


Train Tracks

by HideawayB3



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/F, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-28
Updated: 2017-03-03
Packaged: 2018-05-29 16:11:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 9
Words: 76,375
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6383443
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HideawayB3/pseuds/HideawayB3
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Have you ever wondered what was on the other side of the train tracks?"<br/>"Isn't it all the same thing?"<br/>"Noooo. Sometimes it's greener on the other side,"<br/>"You think?"<br/>"I know."</p><p>Chance encounters happen. How they happen is what we should take away from the situations.<br/>That's what happens with Emma and Regina. They meet by chance as teens and are separated, only to meet by chance as adults. But does Emma remember? Does Regina remember? Only one way to find out. Who crosses over the train tracks? Who stays? Who has it greener on the other side?</p><p>A/U.ABSOLUTELY NO MAGIC!</p><p>Or the one in which we retell how Emma and Regina met and fell in love-twice through the eyes of their daughter and later. Regina herself</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. New in Town

It was 11:22 pm. On a Sunday night. Everyone was asleep. Everyone, except her. The young girl scrambled from her full sized bed and shoved her size five feet into her bedroom slippers. For some odd reason, she fluffed her already messy brunette and honey blonde mixed hair and rubbed at her eyes. _I really wish I was asleep right now-_ she thought to herself as she headed for her room door. She cracked it lightly before exiting into the dark hallway. Her pupils dilated to suit the night as her fingertips trailed the walls of the upstairs in her parents’ home. She paused at their room door and listened closely. At first she heard nothing and then she heard a bit of shifting and feet hitting the wooden floor of the bedroom. The light switch clicked, the bed dipped and conversation, along with muffled tears, transpired.

“She’s growing up too fast,”  she heard muffled words come out. She heard sniffled and hiccupped breathing as well.

“Sweetie, it’s okay-,”

“-It’s not! Our baby girl is leaving and she’s going so far. She’s going too far away! Why does she have to go so far away?”

“Because she’s just like you- headstrong and determined,”

“But she’s still just a baby,”

“I know- I know. But she wants to follow her dreams and part of that is leaving the nest…. Sweetie, she’s the youngest prodigy to graduate from here and she’s going to make us so proud… we both know there’s nothing left for her here-especially for what it is she wants to do.. You know deep down we both just want our little ray of sunshine to do what it is she truly wants to do,”

“She wants to be a ballerina _and_ a chemist. Why can’t she stay here for that. She can be a ballerina in the living room like how she used to when she was five. We’ll get her the ballet barre and buy her a chemistry set. She doesn’t _have_ to leave,” the young girl heard. She heard what was past those words as well. Sorrow and pain and fear. Fear of--

“She’s going to leave us. She’s going to leave _me_ ,”

“She won’t leave you. She loves you too much to leave you. You were there for any and everything. From the day she was born to now, you’ve never not been there and she knows that and she loves that- and.. She loves _you._ You kissed away every booboo when I couldn’t and went to every single recital when I couldn’t. You entertained every single nutty but prosperous idea she came up with and even still played devil’s advocate and pushed her to follow her heart and her mind and her dreams. You told her never to let something trivial, stop her. You told our daughter never to let anything even remotely painful, stop her. You told our beautiful little girl who is following her dreams not to ever let _us_ stop her,”

“She won’t,” there was a sniffle. “ She’s too damn hardhead to let us stop her.” Another sniffle.

“And that’s a trait she got from you,”

“I would accept that if she was hardheaded about staying- not going.” There was small laughter that erupted, but the young girl’s eyes were stinging a bit.

 

‘I won’t leave you.. Either of you. I love you too much. You’re all I ever have at the end of the day. I just wanna follow my heart and my dreams like you told me to.’ She whispers as she smile tearily and shifted away from the door before she walked towards the next bedroom and cracked that door, lightly. A tiny frame of honey blonde and brunette hair was wrapped up in a Spiderman comforter. He was asleep.. Or at least he appeared that way.

 

Just before she turned to close the door completely, there was a muffled,

“NoNo,” that came out. He called her that, because their parents called her that and it soon became the only name she went by.

“Hey buddy,” she whispered, but the tone of her voice sang a little. She turned her body fully and walked back into the room. “ You okay, little man,” she asked quietly and he nodded.

“Uhuh,” he smiled but made a come here motion as best he could with his chubby fingers. His face lit up as she smirked and made her way over before sitting on the edge of the young boy’s bed. She knew there was something else if he summoned her.

“Can’t sleep, little man?” she asked and he shook his head.

“NoNo,”

“Yeah, bud?”

“Can you tell me a story?” the little boy asked as he yawned a little. On instinct, she covered his mouth and he giggled. His sister smiled before she settled in next to him and he instantly snuggled up under her. She wrapped her arms around him and kissed his head.

“Okay, but I’m going to tell you a very-very special story,” she said and his eyes widened.

“How special?”

“Incredibly special.. You ready?”

“Yeah,” he somewhat cheered. His sister nodded and began the retelling of how she so vividly remembered it to be.

  
  
  
  


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

It was a stupid plan. It was a really stupid plan, but she was grinning.

“This is such a stupid, fucking plan,” she continued to grin as her fingers strummed and tapped away at the steering wheel. Such an asinine plan. An asinine plan she found herself fully invested in. But it wasn’t as if she wasn’t already known for asinine plans that the normal person would probably scowl at. How she came to the conclusion to have this venture was due to outside influences.

 

Her parents had made mention that she visit their old hometown and at that point, the young woman doubled back and asked “Boston’s not your hometown?” with a scrunched up face and her father’s response of,

“No, your mother and I left after our engagement and came here because too… sleepy back in Maine. Nothing much was left for us there and your mother wanted to pursue other things. So...we left,” is what led the 25 year old to be on a highway.

 

No driver’s license. No food. Barely half a tank of gas. Less than- well- no money at all, actually, or her wallet, or even a damn map for guidance. She’d also made short notice decision to just quit her job and inform her friends that she was about to do something life changing and quite possibly, stupid. Of course they agreed that it was and _is_ stupid, but they also pushed her to do it because, let’s face it, she’d have done it anyway.

“Gotta love em,” she concluded as she grinned to herself over the entire thing. Her friends were totally okay with her doing it because they were used to the young woman consistently putting herself in situations where she just really looked like a suffering, homeless person. Her parents, however, they were a whole lot less okay with it, but she’d intentionally waited to tell them she was on the road before she heard her mother’s yelling… and swearing. She’d deal with the consequences of that, later. For right now, she was on the highway and she was going to reap every single benefit of it.

 

The young woman rolled down all her windows and allowed the air that whipped from the highway to be her air conditioning. She turned up her radio and felt a trance come over her as she listened to Hugh’s Learn to Fall and a playlist by Oh Wonder. She continued to listen to her personally made CD that August handed her just before she set off on her journey, until she heard something- or rather, it. Something sputtered and something else dinged.

“That’s not good- at all,” the blonde concluded, but she kept driving until it happened again.

“God, this really was a stupid fucking plan,” she scolded herself. She was now panicking, profusely and muttering obscenities beneath her breath.

But, as if the angels above who were looking out for her just decided to put her out of her misery, she saw a sign. Two to be precise. One read ‘you are now leaving’ wherever the hell she was to the ‘you are now entering’ wherever the hell that place is.

“Come on, Bee, just a little farther buddy,” she pleaded with it. Her car sputtered it’s way down a barren two lane road, until it completely gave in and just jutted to a stop. She looked around and sighed.

“I swear if this is like those crapper horror movies, I’ll actually kill myself before they can,” she muttered as she stepped out and looked on with a hand over her brows. “Guess I better start walking,” she concluded with a sigh. The woman made her way to the back of the Bug and pulled out her duffel. She slung it over her shoulder and grabbed her keys and sunglasses before locking up her car. She turned back to the long strip and sighed. _Better get started._

She began her walk and whistled to herself. She hummed, she sang, she danced and she just about jogged with her rucksack still firmly placed on her back, down the two lane road. She continued and didn’t stop until she saw buildings. She didn’t have the time to stop and stare though. No time to take in the simplistic design of all the homes that ranged, not only in structure but flora design. She damn sure didn’t have time to take notice at how homey the entire town felt. And had she truly been looking, she’d have really missed the whole name of the place that sounds like it was ripped from a child’s imagination. She was tired at this point. Tired and hungry and broke and - boy was this a really dumb fuck kind of idea. She shoves her hands in her pocket and searches them because she’s got that kind of dumb positivity that tells her she just may find a crumpled up twenty somewhere in one of the crevices, but she has no such luck because she made good on emptying every single pocket on every article of clothing that would hold it.

“Fuck,” she mutters to herself because she can and because she did something stupid and she knows she did, but she can’t change it now and if she calls her parents, her mother will just rip her a new orifice and tell her she was right and blah blah and- “I do not have time to listen to this woman rant about how right she was right now. I just need a fucking plate of French Fries and I’ll be good.” She keeps walking until she comes upon a diner and her eyes trail up to the sign.

“Granny’s,” she whispers before she rolls her eyes. “ How original,” she sighs as she walks up to the steps and goes inside. All actions are stopped and eyes train and focus themselves on her. She’s hella uncomfortable and just moves out towards the counter, slowly, the eyes still boring holes into her with their own version of.. Surprise, she concludes.

“Eyes on yourself people!” She hears the almost nasal tone of a much older woman. _Must be the granny._ The woman’s appearance is anything but Granny, but for some reason Emma thinks she has to be the granny because no one else has silvery powder white hair in there and looks that close to having one foot in the grave. “New in town, I see,” Granny says as she motions towards Emma’s duffel. The blonde looks down at the duffel’s strap, back up at the woman and nods.

“Yeah, just passing through.. I think,”

“Where ya headed?” The woman asks her and she’s hesitant to answer but figures she’s got nothing to lose.

“Some place in Maine, StoryBrooke?- Maine,” she answers and the woman smiles at her and it does nothing to put her at ease.

“Well, that’s where you are. Granny,” she says as she introduces herself with an outstretched hand.   _Gotcha_. The blonde looks down at the hand and back up at the woman who doesn’t seem the slightest bit opposed to shaking an absolute strangers hand, or in fear for her life.

“Emma. Emma Nolan,” she says and Granny’s eyes widen.

“David Nolan’s little flitling,” she grins and Emma does that uneasy grin back at her.

“Yeah, how’d you know my dad,”

“He used to be Marco’s apprentice. He’d gotten really good with carving sculptures. Helped Marco make a few of the bed for the B&B. Say, is he still married to .. Mary Margaret. The umm- the White’s daughter?”

“Yeah, that’s my mom,” she said and she seemed to take offense in the way the woman was prying.

“Ruby.. Ruby,” Granny called and out came a woman that Emma could tell was probably her mother’s age, but still looked oh so young in the face… and figure. Dark hair, with a few little grey streaks that proved her age wasn’t untouchable, streamed down the side of her neck and onto her shoulder as she wore a long sleeve white shirt with the sleeves rolled up into cuffs and a knee length red skirt with the old fashioned wing tip shoes.

“Yeah,” she answered as she regarded her grandmother.

“Ruby, this is the Nolan’s little daughter, Emma,”

“You mean David Nolan?” Ruby asked as she turned her attention to Emma and the blonde’s eyes widened.

“That’s the one,” Emma grinned uneasily, duffel still firmly against her back.

“Ohhhh, you’re the one they called about, huh,” Ruby finally said and Emma looked frightened for a moment.

“T-they called about me,” she asked and Ruby took that as cue to excuse herself.

“Yes child. Your father called and expressed that you were trying to get some experiment done to get here with nothing but the clothes you packed and whatever gas you had in your car. Your mother was a hysterical mess as well. I couldn’t very well tell them no, especially your father. Not after what he did for me. Now, I’m more than positive you didn’t just come in here to talk. You came for something to eat and were probably going to offer to wash dishes in exchange, am I right?” Granny asked with a knowing look and Emma nodded because, the woman was right. “Good, then take a seat and I’ll get you something to snack on and make you a hot meal, how’s that sound?”

“Wonderful, thank you,” Emma said and the woman nodded before she left.

 

Emma landed her pale ass in one of the bar stool chairs and looked around the diner at the people who seemed to be completely and utterly disinterested in her.

“You know, we don’t get many visitors over the years,” Ruby says as she comes out shining a cup.

“Why? This place is on the map right?” The woman nods.

“Still, no one wants to come to a place where the most exciting thing is probably the cannery or Miner’s day celebration. I swear the cannery gets more action than the park does,”

“That bad, huh,”

“Sadly, it is.. So what made you wanna come here anyway,”

“Well, my parents said Boston wasn’t their hometown and suggested I come see where they grew up, but my dad says it’s a sleepy little town and there’s nothing much here,”

“That’s an accurate description,” Ruby nods as she continues to shine the glass. “ But that still doesn’t answer why _you_ actually decided to come here. You mentioned your parents reasoning and not your own,”

“Oh, well, I was in the mood to do something different. I wanted a change of pace in my life because everything was so mundane back in the city and it was getting congested and I just wanted to do something.. Outrageous,” the blonde answers and Ruby hmms. “ What?”

“Nothing, it’s just you leave a city with so much to do to come to a place that’s literally asleep even on the weekends because the city was too mundane.. Well, what do you think you’ll be getting here?”

“The idea sounded better in my head,”

“I bet it did,” Ruby teased and Emma playfully scowled at her.

“Sooooo, did you know my mom?”

“I worked with her but I don’t remember her much. We were on different shifts more often than not. I just remember the engagement party and that’s about it,”

“So, not friends?”

“Nope. Not friends. Like I said, different shifts,” Ruby shrugged and Emma nodded.

“Food’s up,” Granny said as she dinged the bell and Ruby went to retrieve the plate.

The bell clung melodically above Granny’s door and in toddled a four year old with a mission to sit at a bar stool, today. She dashed into the diner, sprinting as best as her little legs can carry her and buckled into Emma’s legs in the process.

“Ooof,” the little girl said in response to the blockade before her.

“NoNo,” they both heard a scolding tone that wasn’t angry, just warning. It was a tone of be careful, little one. One in which she usually heeded to, but not today. Today was the big chair kind of day.

“Hey, Kid,” Emma says as she looks down at the little girl with the golden honey and brunette hair and wide baby blue and grey eyes. _Jesus, she’s adorable_. The little girl scrunched up her nose that housed a minute amount of freckles and pointed to the bar stool.

“Up. Chair. UUUUUUUUP,” she said as she got frustrated by the impending moment. She pointed and bounced her knees to further emphasize her frustration. Emma grinned to herself and hoisted the child up. She would be lying if she said she didn’t smile when the little girl squealed in pleasure as she was placed in the high bar stool chair.

“There you go, Kiddo. Happy?” She asked and the little girl nodded eagerly.

“ _Noellia_ ,” the voice called and the little girl went,

“No no,” because she probably did do a no no


	2. Momma I made a friend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Had a brain fart when writing this. Literally took me days and as usual all mistakes and whatnot are my own. Not hitting writer's block, just my lack of attention rearing its head.... sigh.
> 
> Anyway,do enjoy and I'll either update Cigs and Ash later or tomorrow, same goes for True Love

Her mother’s doing something important that’s taking up a lot of her time on her phone, but she’s more than aware of when the little girl manages to dart off and into the direction of the stool. Sure, she’s tiny, but somehow her mother always knows. She hides her little face in her hands and shakes her head.

“no no,”she whispers to herself as she keeps her head hung, because she had a feeling her mommy wasn’t so proud of her barreling into some unsuspecting person.

“Noellia,” her mother repeats, and it’s closer- but she doesn’t answer because ‘mommy mad’. At least, she might be, she could never tell when her mother’s on her blackberry like that. The little girl was always such a precocious little soul. So advanced and adventurous, and relentless.

“Noly,” her mother says and it sounds exasperated, but it also sounds as though it’s pleading, yet, she’s still on her phone. She continues to type away and answer whatever it is she’s supposed to be answering because it seemed like she was behind on it, or over the entire issue and rushing to just get it over with. Regina can actually see her out of the corner of her eye, but she’s waiting for her daughter to answer because she knows that Noly knows when she’s done a no no. This time when her mother calls, the voice is most definitely behind her or on the side of her, so she looks up at her mother and she’s met with a small smile.

“Yes momma,” she finally answers and that’s all Regina’s waiting on.

“Baby girl, how’d you get up there,” her mother questions before she turns her attention back to Ruby, but Noly points to the woman next to her. Her mother obviously misses the direction her little hand is in as she opens her mouth to speak with Ruby.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

“Good afternoon Miss Lucas,” comes the smooth flow of her voice in the diner. It’s low, but it’s well heard.

“Regina, can you just call me Ruby. My age does not equate to you referring to me like I’m a senior citizen; besides, you call my grandmother the same thing. I already get confused enough as it stands when it comes to this” Ruby grins and so does Regina.

“I apologise, Ruby,”

“No apologies needed, now, what are you in for today,” she asks and Regina lets out a happy sigh.

“Lunch with my little princess,” she smiles as she rests her purse on the counter and places her blackberry in the pocket of her coat. She kisses the side of Noellia’s head before turning her attention back to Ruby. “Do you have anything special on the menue today for kids by any chance?” she inquires and Ruby thinks for a moment before she responds.

“I think we do,” she speaks as she fidgets around under the counter for the special’s paper. She sucsessfully pulls one out and reads off the Kid’s part. “Dino shaped chicken nuggets with steamed carrot sticks and milk or smashed potatoes, baked chicken strips and peas...and that’s with milk too,” she makes sure to add and Regina smirks at her.

“Sounds like something Noly would definitely eat,” the brunette concedes before she turns her head to her daughter who’s staring up at her with an almost blank expression to having her name be mentioned.

“NoNo,”

“Yes mommy,” she answers.

“Sweetie, what do you say to some potatoes with chicken and peas? Sound good?” Her mother asked her and she had to give it thought.

“Does it come with milk, mommy,” she queries and both Regina and Ruby smile at her.

“It totally does, little Rae, and I’m still waiting on you to help me behind the counter one of these days,” Ruby winks and she cheers. Rae is Noellia’s middle name and Ruby had taken to calling her little Rae, just because she could.

“Can I have it mommy, pleeeeease!?”

“Of course you can, sweetie. Ruby, my usual and an order of …” her words trail off as she’s speaking and Noly only stops her to correct her for a moment.

“-But no peas,” she says as she shakes her head and Regina pauses. She turns her face back to her child with question in her expression.

“But sweetie, I thought peas were your favourite,”

“They are, but Jonas likes corn, so I wanna have corn,” the little girl says matter of factly and her mother has to keep from being so proud of the way she acts just like her in every way. Jonas is also Noly’s best friend, even though her mother is more than positive she’s not completely sure what a best friend is..

“Oh, I see,”she says in a tone that means ‘hmm’ more so than anything else. “So, is Jonas going to try peas since you’re trying corn?”

“No… I don’t know,” the child shrugs as if it wasn’t important, and to Noly, it probably wasn’t.

“Alright, but if you don’t like them, you tell me, got it?”

“Got it,” her child grinned and nodded eagerly. Regina then turned her attention back to the other woman and they lost themselves in conversation. Noly turned her attention over to the blonde woman who was just sat there, sipping at her drink and shoving food into her face, albeit, rather cleanly.

 

Her eyes turn up to meet Emma’s and she sees the woman smiling at her, so she smiles back. “Thank you,” she finally says with a grin and Emma realizes she’s being thanked for hoisting the child up in the chair.

“No problem, Kid,” Emma smiles as she stops eating momentarily, wipes her fingers and bops her on the nose because the child’s hair is tied off in pigtails. Noly giggles and Emma continues to smile at her.

“Mommy’s busy,” she sighs and Emma looks up, finally taking Regina in and tilting her head. She doesn’t let her eyes linger even for a moment because she’s more concerned about the child before her. She doesn’t bother taking in what Regina’s wearing or her mannerisms because Noly is right. Regina is busy. She’s having a conversation with an adult and it’s obvious the child is smart enough to know not to interrupt unless it’s something important, or at least, something her mother would drop her conversation for. However, Emma is unaware that Regina would drop literally everything if only to give her daughter a moment in time if she were to interrupt her.

“I can see that... but I’m not,” Emma offers and Noly looks like she’s about to quote some stranger danger thing to her, until she doesn’t.

“Okay,” she agrees. “Can we play slide, push, clap?” she asks and Emma looks confused.

“What’s that, Kid?”

“It’s a game,” she says as if Emma should know that. “ You play it like this,” she then says before proceeding to show Emma exactly how the mechanics of the game works. “ You stretch them out, and then you do this,” NoNo tells her and Emma catches on after the child repeats the actions that follow, to her a few times. The two then play a few rounds of slide push clap before NoNo informs Emma, “We gotta speed it up,” and Emma’s eyes widen a bit. She’s already going pretty fast as it stands, and if that wasn’t complicated enough, the child begins to sing as she does it before she once again informs Emma to “speed up,” and then “cus we have to triple clap,” she grins and Emma’s grinning back because this Kid is actively making her workout.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

“So, how’s your mom doing,” Ruby asks as she comes from behind the counter and she and Regina head outside. Ruby’s made a personal decision to take a five minute break everyday, even if it’s just to get her bearings, but she figured using one of them with Regina is just as good.

“She’s cranky,” Regina informs. Her eyes scan the road and her hands find their ways into the pockets of her coat.

“Sounds like Cora,” the woman jokes and watches as Regina grins at her.

“It’s more to do with the hospital than anything else. She despises Whale’s unconventional ways of treating her,”

“He’s her doctor,” Ruby asks in disbelief and Regina nods. “And we’re sure he’s still alive- how?”

“That’s just it, we’re not,” Regina jokes darkly and Ruby loses it giggling at the prospect of Whale possibly hanging from a balcony window on the fourth floor of the hospital.

“Your mother is a handful,” she says and Regina smiles.

“Tell me something I don’t already know,”

“Graham wants me to have a child with him,” Ruby says nonchalantly and Regina’s eyes snap wide open to regard the woman. She sees Ruby grinning at her and that’s all the answer she needs.

“You said yes!” It’s a squeal, a loud one and Ruby nods, smile still plastered on her face. “ Well..tell me,” Regina commands happily and Ruby concedes. She only gets about half way through explaining until Noly comes out and tugs at her coat.

“Mommy,” she calls and both women pause. Regina and Ruby look down at the little girl who’d just turned four and Regina answers her.

“Yes, sweetheart?”

“You didn’t eat,” Noly pouts as she holds up her mother’s food. It’s wrapped in a paper bag and Noly holds it up higher so that her mother can see that she did, in fact, not eat her food. Regina sighs before bending down and taking the plate from her daughter.

“I’m sorry, baby. Mommy was busy,”

“But you said you should never be too busy to eat,” Noly argues and she’s right. Regina knows that.

“You’re right, sweetie. I’m sorry. I’ll eat it when we go home,”

“Promise?” the child asks unsure.

“Do I ever break them?” Regina asks back and Noly shakes her head.

“No, mommy,”

“Then I promise,” Regina says before stretching out her hand for her daughter to take. Noly takes it without a beat of hesitation and starts to smile.

“Momma, I made a friend,” is the next words that come from her lips.

“You did,” Regina asks, clearly surprised.

“She must mean Emma,” Ruby says, but Regina’s lost.

“Who’s that?”

“You didn’t see her,” Ruby asks and the brunette shakes her head. “She’s new to town. Just came through today. Nolan’s daughter,”

“As in, David and Mary Margaret Nolan?”

“Those are the ones,” Ruby says and Regina shifts her position.

“I didn’t notice,” she says.

“I can tell,” she teases and Regina scowls, playfully at her. “So, little Rae, I’ve got a question to ask you,”

“Yes, goddy,” she now looks over at Ruby and Ruby bends down to meet her eyes. That was another nice thing about their relationship. Ruby was also Noellia’s godmother, so that position had been taken very seriously when she got it, and she never let Noly or Regina down.

“What would you say if goddy told you that Graham and her were gonna make a little god brother or sister that you could play with when they were born?” Ruby received no words, instead she received wailing, like, instant wailing. Noly’s breath hitched and hiccupped as she wailed, loudly.

“B-but, y-y-you’re my, g-goddddyyyy,” she wailed and Ruby’s face pinched into pain. She had a feeling she knew why Noly just completely lost it. Regina’s face fell at the sight of her four year old, red in the face, red in the eyes and tears streaming, quickly.

“NoNo,” Regina coos but her daughter is still wailing. She tries again, but Noly is still so distraught that she continues to scream. Regina looks at Ruby, helplessness clearly abundant.

“No!” she belts, loudly and it’s because- “You’re my Goddy!” She screams and they understand what she’s trying to say without saying it. She knows the attention will no longer be on her fully and she can’t stand it. Ruby gives Regina a motion to give her some time with Noly. Regina nods and puts some space between them.

“Little Rae,” she calls and the red faced little girl is still hiccupping and whimpering. “I’ll always be your goody,” Ruby tries, but the little girl shakes her head violently as she screams back.

“You won’t! You’ll leave!”

“Noly,” Ruby coos in a whisper and she’s met with a pout, hiccupped breathing and a red faced little girl. She turns away from Ruby and stamps her feet.

“You don’t love me,” she says with a small hmmph, after.

“That’s not true, little Rae. I do love you,” Ruby says. “ Would I ask you about the little baby if I didn’t?” Noly shook her head and Ruby smiled a little. “ Okay, so don’t you think I love you a lot, like super super much?” Noly shook her head and Ruby sighed. “Is that true?” she asked and waited on the child who finally shook her head. “Sweetie, uncle Graham wants a little one like you and so do I, but that doesn’t mean you’ll stop being my little Rae. Ever. We just want a family of our own so that we have someone who’s special to us like you are to your mommy, and that doesn’t mean you’re not our family, but I’d like to have a little one who is just as special as my little Rae. Don’t you want me to have that?” she asks and Noly does nod because she does want Ruby to have it. She thinks her goddy deserves the best.

“I’m sorry, goddy Ruby,” she pouts, and she’s pouting because she feels terrible about how she acted, but Ruby shakes her head at her. She just lifts the little girl into her arms and kisses her little face.

“Never apologise, little Rae. I love you and that’s all that matters, okay?” The child nods and wraps her arms around Ruby’s neck and hugs her tightly. “ Good, now, I think you and your mommy have somewhere to be and you gotta get going, but I’ll take you to the park tomorrow like I promised,”

“Is uncle Graham gonna show me how to aim the gun again,” Noly asks and Ruby grins. She’s thinking about the first time Noly ever held ‘the’ gun. Graham, Ruby’s husband, had been teaching Noly how to aim a gun since she first picked it up in the station and nearly gave the man a heart attack. Regina had taken Noly over to see them and Graham’s gun was in its holster in a cupboard she’d managed to get into. Regina was stunned and internally freaking out to say the least and Ruby glared at Graham because she’d always warned him about not locking the cupboard. Now he knew why. Thankfully it wasn’t loaded or the retract on it would’ve left Noly stunned and injured, and Graham probably would have had a bullet in his ass.

“I’ll talk to him about it and see what he says, but I’m pretty positive he’d say yes to his best little girl,” Ruby answers and Noly grins. “ Go on, your momma has somewhere to be, little Rae,” she said after setting her goddaughter down and giving her a little push in her mother’s direction. Regina instinctively stretches out her hand and Noly takes it.

“Bye goddy, Ruby,” the child grins and waves and Ruby waves back. Regina looks at the woman with a grateful smile and Ruby understands it. She nods towards Ruby and the woman walks over to embrace her and kiss the side of Regina’s head.

“Go on,” she says and she’s laughing and so is Regina and Noly. Ruby remains until they’re safely in the car and pulling away from the curbside parking. She sighs to herself and is interrupted.

“Your family’s nice,” comes the comment and Ruby turns to regard the voice because she’s pretty sure she knows who got that wrong. She turns and sees the blonde standing behind her with her hands in her pockets and a small smile on her face. Yup, she definitely got it wrong.

“Excuse me?” she asks and Emma shrugs but, it seems off.

“I was just saying, it’s nice to see you with your daughter and your wife like that,”

“What?” she asks because now it’s just confusing disbelief.

“They are yours right? Your wife and daughter,” Emma asks and one of Ruby’s oh so sculpted brows, rises.

“No,” she says simply and Emma blushes because she’s so embarrassed now.

“I just- I thought that-... I should shut up,” Emma says to herself and nods as if that’s the best option and Ruby can’t help but laugh.

“It’s cool, you’re not the first to make that assumption, but I’m almost positive you might be the last, though… Regina’s a friend and yeah she’s like family, but she’s not my wife and Noellia’s my goddaughter. I’m married, just not to her. My husband’s the sheriff. Graham Humbert. You’ll probably meet him soon, considering he usually comes in right after Regina and Noly leave,” she informs the blonde and Emma just nods because if she says anything else, she’s almost positive that she’d be wrong once again. Ruby can see the blonde is clearly at a loss for what words to say next, so she continues to speak. “ So, you’ll be staying here, may as well come in and see your room,” she smiles and Emma looks up at her with a weird face.

“I-,”

“-It’s in your best interest to hush. Your parents called, remember?” she questions and doesn’t wait on a response because she doesn’t need one. “You did something asinine and your dad called in a favour, so, get your things and come upstairs and I’ll show you your room. You can get three meals and some snacks in between, but Granny will probably call Graham and get him to make you deputy.. Or help her in the kitchen. Not like there’s much else to do around here, anyway,” she rambles.

“The only thing I have is this,” Emma says as she makes motion to her duffel and Ruby rolls her eyes before she sighs and smiles.

“You really were trying to be homeless before someone found you, huh,”

“Okay, no need to rub it in. I did a dumb thing, but it got me here, somehow. Literal magic, I swear,”

“Magic doesn’t exist,” Ruby laughs and Emma scowls at her.

“I know that,” she acquiesces, “ but I made it here when my Bug literally just conked itself into oblivion-,”

“-Not to cut you off, but speaking of, where _is_ it?”

“Just over the townline I think,”

“You walked ten miles with that thing on your back,” Ruby asks with pure shock.

“Yeah, wasn’t really that hard. I played basketball all through high school and in college,”

“You took after your mother,” Ruby says impressed.

“I thought you said you didn’t know my mother,”

“I didn’t but this town has one school- one _high_ school, I should say and she was on the varsity team for lacrosse. Your dad was the nerd, and that I can remember because he and Graham were best friends,”

“So what happened,” Emma asked as she followed Ruby who was now walking into the diner. Ruby shrugged.

“After their engagement and your parents left, they had you and he and Graham just never got past playing catchup with each other.. That and your mother didn’t want to come back- yes I know that because she’d made it perfectly clear during the engagement party, but yeah.” Emma is silent for that moment as she continues to follow Ruby up the stairs and to the end of a hall. “ This one’s yours until you’re on your feet, or making money, but Granny still won’t charge you. She’ll make you pay some other way, though, so be ready for that,”

“Why does it sound like she’ll have me lifting crap back and forth,”

“Because that’s exactly what she’ll have you doing,”

“Ahhh, good old hard ass labour,” Emma jokes and Ruby smirks.

“Here, you’re going to need this,” she motions to the key and Emma takes it.

“Thanks, Ruby,” she smiles and Ruby smiles back.

“Get settled in, Granny will probably call you in the next…” she pauses to look at her watch. “ -three hours,”

“Start my slave labour early,”

“No, dinner.. Then slave labour,” Ruby says seriously before they both lose it laughing.

“I think I’m gonna like it here,” Emma says. “ I might just stay a bit longer than I planned,”

“And how long was that with no gas or anything else on you,”

“Probably a week. I’ve done crazier.. Well, almost,”

“I don’t even want to know. Just head in, I’ve got a shift to finish,” Ruby says and Emma nods. The brunette leaves and Emma opens the door to her now home. She inhales and immediately it smells.. Too homey so she quickly opens a window and draws the curtains way back. She tosses her duffel in the corner before she’s sat indian style on the ground and sifting through it and putting the things away in drawers. She lines up her shoes and changes into something much more comfortable, like a jersey tee and some shorts. She plugs her phone in and turns it on and grins stupidly when she sees all the messages from her friends and a few choice words from her mother on her new venture. She ignores her mother’s angry message and dials August’s number. It rings once and the man picks it up instantly.

“Auggie!” she greets cheekily.

“Hey, Em, how’d you make it,”

“I almost didn’t. Bee gave out just after the townline and I walked the rest,”

“Yikes, how far,”

“Pfft, ten miles,”

“Oh, that’s nothing,” August says and Emma laughs.

“That’s what I told Ruby,”

“Who’s Ruby? Damn, you work quick, Swan. Meeting the ladies already,”

“I was bound to meet someone, Auggie. If it hadn’t been for my parents calling in to tell one of my dad’s old friends that I was being an idiot and trying to backpack my way through this tiny ass town, then someone would have talked to me and fed me by now. The people here look nosey as fuck,” she laughs and August laughs as well.

“That bad?”

“You have no idea. They looked at me like they’ve never seen people before,”

“Well, you did tell us that your folks said the place barely got visitors,”

“Yeah, but it’s sooooo,”

“Sleepy?”

“No,”

“Dead?”

“No,”

“Calm?”

“Ye-no,”

“Then what. I’m all out of nice words,”

“It’s.. Boring,”

“Original,” August deadpans and Emma grunts.

“I’m serious. It’s literally like the souls of the underworld. At least they don’t moan and bitch. They just stare and eat and disappear,”

“Oh my God, you’re dramatic,”

“Like you didn’t already know that,”

“Whatever, Swan. You’re the most giryl jock I’ve ever had the oddest pleasure to be friends with,”

“I don’t know if that’s an insult or a compliment,”

“It’s backhanded,” August laughs.

“I’m starting to rethink our friendship,”

“Well, don’t think too hard, the girls wanna talk to you,” August said before he handed off the phone.

“Swan!”

“Fa! Rory!”

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

“How’s she settling in,” Granny asked Ruby as she made her way downstairs.

“She’s good. She’s not looking forward to the slave labour to pay for her stay, but she’s fine,”

“Better than her being out on the streets,”

“True.. how are you, how’s your arthritis,”

“It’s there,” is all the woman says and Ruby looks her up and down.

“I’m serious, grans,”

“I’m old, Ruby. That’s about as close to a description as I can give you without you actually feeling what I’m going through, but don’t worry about me, just get back to work and you can take an early day- maybe even show the flitling around,”

“Maybe, but you know she thought I was married to Regina, right,” Ruby says and Granny laughs.

“Not surprised in the slightest. I told you, it looks that way with the way you handle her and Noellia,”

“But that’s because she’s my family.. Like, well, you get it and she lost- you know who, and you weren’t there, but Graham and I were. We’re all she has besides her other family,”

“You also are extremely protective and she needs room to breathe, and exist beyond people thinking and making asses of themselves in assumption that she’s your wife,”

“I’d prefer that to be honest,”

“Yes because you’re greedy,” Granny teases and Ruby just about growls but she knows it’s all in love.

“I’m going back to work. _You_ , old woman, don’t talk to me,” she grins and her grandmother tosses a tea towel at her.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

“Momma,” Noly called from her carseat. Regina looked away from the road momentarily to look into her rearview and answer her daughter.

“Yes, sweetheart? Are you okay,”

“Yes, momma.. Momma, I made a friend,” Noly reminds her and her mother smirks a little.

“I know, baby. How is your new friend,”

“Old,” Noly says and Regina snickers.

“Don’t you mean she’s older than you,”

“That too, but she’s old,” the child repeats and Regina just grins.

“How old is she, sweetheart?”

“I dunno,”

“So how do you know she’s old,”

“Cus, she doesn’t have to go to school,”

“Ahhh, so what does that make mommy then?”

“Ancient,” the little girl said jokingly and her mother halted the car, instantly.

“NoNo,” she gasped and her daughter laughed.

“Mommy, you asked,”

“I’m beginning to think I shouldn’t have,” Regina responds and Noly continues to laugh. Regina rolls her eyes and continues to drive until they’re home. She parks the car and grabs her lunch from the front seat before she goes to open the passenger door for Noly who’s already unbuckled her seatbelt and out of her carseat. She hops down when the door is opened and bounds down the walkway and up to the very sterile looking house that most would consider a mansion. It wasn’t hers, it was her parents’ place and her mother was adamant that they stay there since she was in the hospital. Her father was out of town on a business trip and her sister was off in England, pursuing her Masters in Business and Accounting. They all seemed like the Stepford kind of family, well, almost. But that was a story for another day.

 

She makes her way up the walkway and unlocks the door before her daughter is off like a rocket through the large house and dashing to the room that used to be her mother’s. She’d laid claim to it after finding out that it was _the_ room. Regina hadn’t bothered telling her she couldn’t make that her room. She was a grown woman now, 26 to be precise- so why deny her little girl that. Regina walks towards the kitchen and sets her food down before she grabs a bottle of water off the counter and opens it. She takes a healthy sip and sighs in appreciation before she sets it down next to her food and walks out of the kitchen and up the stairs to the bedroom she’s currently sleeping in. She rids herself of her clothes from the day and puts them away before changing into some yoga pants and a tank top. She opts to go barefoot because she can. Regina then makes her way down the hall and towards the room where Noly is. She knocks before she opens it and sees her daughter hopping on the bed in nothing but her underwear and an undershirt. She bites back the laughter she’d love to release and enters.

“Sweetheart, where are your pants,”

“O-ver th-eeeeeerrrreee,” she says between jumps and points to the pile in the corner. Regina shakes her head and picks the clothes up before she folds them and places them in the hamper to be washed.

“Having fun,” she asks her daughter and Noly just grins in response and continues to jump.

“Come- on- momm-yyyyy,” her daughter begs and she thinks about it for a moment before walking over to the bed. Noly thinks her mother is about to join her until she jumps, becomes airbourne and her mother catches her mid descent. She giggles as her mother kisses her little face endlessly.

“St-ooo-oop, mommy,” she laughs but Regina continues to kiss her face.

“Never,” Regina says in response until her daughter is gasping for air and then she finally lets up.

“Mommy.. Eat,” Noly says and Regina smiles because the little girl is adamant about that, so she nods and says,

“I will,” and Noly knows she means it, because her mother never breaks a promise she makes to her.

“Okay,” she nods before she scrambles from her motehr’s arms and runs to wherever, and Regina just smiles and follows her. She realizes that Noly is heading towards the kitchen and then the child opens the door of the fridge before she gets one of those mini bottles of water. She hands it to her mother and says the word,

“Please,” and Regina knows what she’s asking so she opens it for her and hands it back. Regina leaves Noly to her devices and sits at the island counter before she pulls her salad out of the to go bag and begins eating.

“Is it chicken, mommy?”

“It is, baby girl, would you like some?” Noly nods and her mother hoists her up into the bar stool next to her. Regina gives Noellia a strip of chicken and the child eats it without a single complaint. She’s used to thinking about so many things as it relates to how she was going to handle a toddler. Those thoughts were more rampant when Noly was just a baby as well, but she’s managed, even after the tragedy, she’s maanged.

“We go see Dane today, mommy?”

“Of course, baby. We never miss a day, right?”

“No.. mommy,”

“Yes, sweetheart?

“Can I pick the flowers,” she questions and Regina pauses. Usually Noly just picks the colour, but today she wants to pick the flowers. Regina smiles and nods and Noly smiles back.

“Can we see nana today too,” she asks and Regina’s face falls. Ever since Cora became a frequent visitor to the hospital, Regina had become more and more protective over how many times Noly could go. Cora understood, she always understood, the whole problem was that she and Noly were much the same in not caring about what was around them and more about seeing one another. Whale never figured out what was wrong and since he’s pretty much the only doctor with enough specialties Cora will go to- not because she wants to but because she hates to travel, she goes to Whale.

“I’m not so sure we’ll go today, sweetheart,” Regina says sadly and Noly’s face falls into a pout. Her mother’s head tilts as she opens her mouth to talk to her. “ Noellia,” she says and Noly looks up. “You understand why we can’t see nana so much, don’t you?”

“No,” the child answers honestly.

“Would you like to know?” She asks and Noly shakes her head.

“No, momma. I just wanna see nana,” the child responds and she’s beginning to sound frustrated. Regina’s aware of this so she sighs and tries to change the subject.

“Baby, I know you would like to see her, but how about we focus on something else for a moment, like the kind of flowers you wanna carry for Dane,” she tries but Noly shakes her head.

“I wanna see nana,” the child repeats and her mother’s reaction is another sigh.

“Sweetheart, I know you’d like to see your nana, but that’s just not possible today,”

“But whyyyyyy,” she whines.

“Because… it’s because mommy doesn’t want you seeing nana like that,”

“But she’s fine!”

“She’s not, baby. She’s just being brave for you… We can see her when she comes out of the hospital,” Regina answers and Noly’s pout grows bigger.

“I don’t wanna see her later. I wanna see my nana, NOW!”

“Noellia,” her mother reprimands and she turns away before she’s clambered off the stool and ran up the stairs. Regina can’t blame her. She won’t blame her. Noly had every reason and right to be upset.Truth be told, she’d probably be just as upset if she were a four year old who was extremely close to her grandmother, butshe wasn’t. She never got to know her grandmother. Regina never got to know her real parents, so that was another thing. She turned back to her salad and just eyed it. She didn’t even want it anymore, not when her one and only child was so frustrated and upset. It was never about Noly being spoiled, it was always about her understanding that there are certain things her mother would give for her without a second thought, however, this was something she _had_ to be careful over.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

“Mom, will you calm down. I’m fine,” Emma whined into the speaker of her phone. She stood there and rolled her eyes as her mother rambled on about her doing something so immature and nutty and whatnot. Emma sighed. “Granny’s giving me a room and I’ll get a job here. Ruby already told me Graham might make me deputy or Granny’ll put me in the back for storage,” she says in hopes that her mother would ease up off of her. But she didn’t. “Mom, will you stop. I quit my other job back in boston. I’ve paid off all my old loans, including the few I had for college _and_ I put the rest of my stuff in storage. Everything’s fine and Auggie says he’ll come down with the girls, to see me and bring my wallet. I can access everything. Everything’s fine,” she’s exasperated when she says it and her mother can hear it. She eases up and the blonde is appreciative. “Can I talk to dad now, I kinda wanna ask him about someone.” She waits on the phone to be transferred. “ Hey dad.. Yes, I’m fine.. Yes Granny gave me a room-- yes I’m fed and en route on working to pay her back and making some money…. Yeah, actually I have and that’s kinda what I wanna ask you about…. Oh no-no, Ruby’s super nice.. No I haven’t met him yet, but she says- well, I think she was trying to say that he misses his friend… dad you haven’t seen him since..forever. I’m twenty five. That’s a long damn time to not see your close friend. How she described it, you guys were kind of like brothers and now you just play catchup.. I can ask if you want……..yeah I’m sure she’ll give me it, besides I think it’ll be a good surprise for him. Yeah, okay.. I love you too dad. Bye.” She smiles as she hangs up and flops down on her bed. She estimates she has about another hour before Granny either rings a dinner bell or knocks her door down, so she decides to take herself a nap. It can’t hurt to get at least an hour in.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

They’re at the graveyard and it’s nearly 6:30 when they arrive. After letting Noly pout it out and possible cry herself into a little fitful nap, Regina had woken her daughter up and informed her that they were going to see Dane. She was still a little upset with her mother but she got up and Regina let her pick out whatever it was she wanted to wear. She decided on some purple leggings and a singlet with her favourite light up slippers. Regina shook her head because if Noly was given the opportunity to dress herself every single day, she’d probably wear a singlet every single day without fail. Of course she’d change her bottoms, but the little girl would opt to be about as free as she could manage. She did however manage to convince the child to at least carry a jacket. Noly agreed, mutely, but she agreed nonetheless. She’d just yanked her grey jacket from the drawers and stuck her arms through it and she was ready. Regina just changed into a pair of jeans and some sandals and then both of them were ready and out the door.

 

“Mommy,” the little girl called from her car seat. It was a bit of a surprise for Regina because the majority of the ride, from the mansion to the flower shop and then towards the graveyard, was so silent that you could hear a pin drop.

“Yes, baby,”

“m’sorry, mama,” she begins and Regina’s about to ask her if she knows why when Noly says, “I was mean to you,”

“Baby, you weren’t mean to me,” she soothes but her daughter shakes her head.

“Uhuh.. I was mean and nana said that I’m not spose to be mean to my momma cus lots of kids don’t have one… and I don’t wanna not have my mommy cus I don’t have Dane either.” There’s silence for a moment because Regina doesn’t have a response for that. She doesn’t have a response for that at all, so she’s quiet. She continues to drive until they reach close enough to walk the rest. It’s not a far walk and she’s grateful for that because she still doesn’t have a response for Noly. Maybe she didn’t actually need one.

 

When they finally arrive close enough to the headstone, Noly breaks off into a sprint and finishes the remaining distance.

“Daaaaaane!” She squeals before she halts and drops to her knees. Noly runs her tiny fingers across the headstone before she digs a miniature hole and places the flowers in it. She pats the dirt around it to keep it standing and then she’s off, talking to him ad if he were actually there. Regina comes up behind her and watches with a watery smile because it seems like just yesterday, he passed. Noly talks on and on and on with the headstone until she gets up and tells her mother it’s her turn. Regina’s never hesitant. She’s always prepared to talk, and much like Noly did before, she gets to her knees and begins.

“Hey,” she begins softly and her words carry in the wind. There’s a smile that’s apparent on her face as her finger lightly traces his name “I know you’re probably busy doing whatever it is you’re doing right now, but… we miss you. NoNo misses you and everyday I can see it growing larger and larger with how much she misses you. I wish you’d just stayed a little longer so that she could have known you the way she wanted to. I wish you’d stayed longer so that _I_ could’ve gotten to know you more… I only knew so much.. I just wish we had you longer... “ Regina sighs a little. “ She got upset with me today… She wants to see her grandmother, but you know how I am with her being around things that could affect her for the rest of her life. I just want her to be okay, and you’d probably tell me I was overreacting just a little bit or laugh and say how she’s just like me, but.. you’d be right. You’d be absolutely right.. I already know what you’d have done, but, that’s just it. That’s what _you_ would have done,” she says before she looks back at Noly who’d walked over to another headstone and seemed to be talking to that one as well. “ I don’t know what I should do. One mind is telling me to just take her there now and give her what she wasnts, but the other part of me that’s thinking logically and not emotionally is telling me to let her cry it out so she understands that there are just some things we can’t have, and that this is one of them.” She sighs and stands up. “ I miss talking to you.. The real you. I’m sick of coming here- knowing you won’t be here. Knowing that not even your spirit is here and it’s making me sick to my stomach to realize that for the rest of my days, I won’t have you. Noly won’t have you….” She’s started to cry a little and that’s it. That’s when she knows that she just can’t stay longer or she’ll be a mess. She wipes at her eyes with the uneasiness of the moment and turns. “ Noly,” she says a bit hoarse. “ Time to go, baby,” she continues and Noly nods before she runs over and takes her mother’s hand without being told. Regina walks her towards the road and helps her into her car seat and starts the car after she buckles up. She’s silent for a moment because she’s really not in the mood to just go back to the mansion where it’s so large and so quiet that Noly will just end up in her room and distracted by whatever toys she’s pulled out for the day. “Baby,” she calls.

“Yes, mommy,”

“How would you like to go for a drive around the town,” Regina queries and Noly nods with excitement. She nods back and they’re off and down the strip, no form of direction in mind, just a drive.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

It’s definitely dinner time if the repeated, interval knocking on the door is anything to go by. But what truly gives it away is the threat that if her scrawny blonde behind isn’t down in the next twenty minutes then she was gonna get smacked with a soup spoon, pretty much sealed it. She groaned and rolled over, eyes searching the ceiling of the room. Her stomach growled and she laughed.

“Perfect timing,” she comments with a laugh as she rises from the bed and rubs at her tired eyes. Emma sits up straight, stretching her back before she’s off the bed and in the bathroom. She takes a short shower and ties her hair off in a messy ponytail before she tosses on a flannel shirt and some shorts with her brown boots and literally takes the steps three at a time as she descends.

“I’m ready.. And hungry,” she announces as she sees Granny’s already out of the kitchen and putting a plate on the counter for another customer.

“Get in the back and get yourself a plate and come help me when you’re done. You’ll be on the night shift,” Granny says, informing the blonde. Emma grins.

“Hired me on the spot. I feel loved,”

“Like I told you earlier, I’m doing this as a favour to your father…. And you look like you can lift what I’m about to have you dealing with,” Granny grins and Emma rolls her eyes but she’s smiling. She gets behind the counter and makes her way into the kitchen and is completely floored by how large, clean and good it smells in there. Granny has the racks with pots and pans and supplies lining the walls that run at least twenty five feet length wise and half that width wise. Three four burner gas stoves sit in the far left corner of the kitchen with an industrial sized double sink just about in the middle of four counters. Two fridges sit directly next to that, making it the far right of the kitchen and there’s a large island smack in the center of the room.

“Ho-ly-,”

“-Don’t you finish that,” Granny scolds and Emma turns back to see the woman’s face.

“It’s huge,”

“I know,”

“And it’s so.. So- sterile,”

“I know,”

“But.. you’re like the size of a dwarf,”

“I…” Granny pauses and Emma grins because she nearly catches the woman. She swats Emma with a tea towel before shuffling over to the pot of chicken and dumplings she has cooking.  “Get a bowl and I’ll get you some food,” she tells the blonde who nods, obediently and does as she’s told. Emma makes her way over to Granny and waits as the woman takes her up a heaping bowl of hot soup. She hands it back to Emma and motions over to the basket where there’s freshly baked bread. Emma picks up two slices and sits at the chair that’s in the kitchen. _Convenient_ , she grins to herself before she eats her food and talks with Granny until she’s done, cleaned up her dish and the woman’s tossed her an apron and put her to work.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

It’s nearly nine by the time Regina’s driven around the entire town and taken Noly to get something to eat from a nearby bakery and then to the docks to feed the birds and run off some extra energy she’s acquired. She looks up in her rearview mirror and sees that Noly is completely out, so she takes them home. She wakes Noly up just enough to give her a bath but of course her baby girl nods off in the tub and she grins. She sings a lullaby to her as she cradles her in a fluffy towel and puts her in her pjs. Noly still prefers a onesie pj, and Regina had gone with it since her daughter was the height of a two year old and about as big as one. It’s a navy blue onesie with a boat on it, Noly’s choice and it comes with a little hoodie on the top. Regina lays her daughter down in the chair in the loving room before she goes back up and towards the room where she sleeps, and changes once again after she takes a shower. She’s wearing her yoga pants once more and changed into a women’s tee and pulled on a pullover. She slips her feet into some  comfortable slippers and heads back downstairs before she picks Noly up once more. She grabs her keys and her bag and locks the house before she’s down the strip and heading towards the hospital.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

“Regina,” her name is called and there’s a smile that comes with those words. It makes Regina’s heart heavy with emotion and happiness as she enter the room with a sleeping Noellia in her arms.

“Hi mother,” she whispers with a matching smile before she closes the door completely and sets Noly down in the bed with her grandmother.

“Oh, look at my little sailor. She’s so beautiful when she sleeps” Cora smiles before she kisses the child’s head.

“She is,” Regina agrees as she looks on at the way Cora coos over the little girl. It makes her heart even heavier because she knows Noly would have been ecstatic to know that she was getting to see her grandmother, but she just couldn’t do it. Regina looks on, for a moment, in silence before she leans over Cora and kisses her cheek.

“How are you mother?” It’s a question she always asks and Cora always answers.

“About as fine as fine can be since I’m here and Whale can’t figure out what’s wrong,” she says and Regina bites the inside of her cheek.

“He’s still drawing blanks,”

“Still drawing blanks,” Cora sighs. “ Not that it matters much anyway, but how are you, darling?”

“Emotional,” Regina admits and Cora smirks.

“Aren’t you always,” she teases and Regina mock scowls at her.

“It’s just.. NoNo got upset at least twice, today and then I got emotional when we went to see… you know,” she says in a way that Cora catches instantly.

“Why did she get upset. She’s such a happy child,” Cora remarks and Regina nods.

“She is, but she’s growing up as well and her becoming cranky is apparently normal… but she was upset because Ruby and Graham are going to try for a baby and NoNo just..”

“Lost it?” Regina nods. “ She believes she won’t be the centre of attention anymore, I presume,” Cora continues and Regina lets out a heavy sigh and nods.

“She thinks that if Ruby and Graham have a baby, she won’t be Ruby’s goddaughter anymore and that she won’t be her little Rae,”

“Seems she doesn’t understand the relationship,” Cora says. “Did you clear it up?”

“Ruby did, but then she got upset...again. This time it was because of you-,”

“-and you bringing her to come see me in this state. I know, dear. I remember, but what I can’t quite fathom, though I respect your choice, is why you won’t just let her see me,”

“Because, mother. I don’t want her to grow up and think this is a normal thing with you and the hospital,”

“But, Regina. It _is_ a normal thing with me and the hospital, sweetheart. I’m getting older, much like your father, I’m becoming dust with every passing day, and sooner or later, I’m going to die-,”

“-don’t say that,” Regina bites out and her eyes water. “ Don’t,” she repeats and Cora’s face falls. It’s a sad smile that’s there because she knows why Regina is so sad over it. Why her child is so broken up about it.

“Come here,” she says but Regina shakes her head.

“Regina,” she repeats. “ come here,” she commands but the woman still shakes her head. Cora sighs, shifts in her bed and tucks Noly in before she’s gotten out of the bed and walked over to Regina. “ I swear, I never thought I’d love you enough to get up from that bed and have my ass on display,” she complains, but it’s all in joking as she sits on the arm of the chair and lets out a small groan from the cool surface. She hugs her child and hugs her close. Regina allows herself to break in her motehr’s arms. She stays there until she no longer cries and pulls away.

“I’m not going anywhere too soon, but I am slowly leaving you and I don’t want you or my granddaughter to believe I’m immortal. I want you both to understand that this is a normal part of life and that I love you with all my heart, but Regina, as I age, I will frequent these four walls more often than even I’d like to, but.. If it keeps me here just a day longer. I’ll do it. You have to let me do this and you have to let her see me,” Cora whispers. “ It _is_ normal, my sweet girl. It’s all normal and it’s something she’ll have to deal with at some point in her life. I’ll be here for as long as I can, but don’t deny her the right to see me whenever she pleases, okay?” There’s a beat of silence and then Reigna nods. She sniffles and pulls away before she looks into Cora’s eyes and throws her arms around her mother and hugs her tight.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

It’s nearly twelve when Emma finishes her first shift at Granny’s. She’s exhausted and she’s found a whole new level of respect for the things that waiters and waitresses alike, go through. Her back hurts just a little, but she chops it up to being from the lifting she did back and forth.

“First say.. How was it,” Ruby asks as she sidles up beside Emma who’s on the last of the few tables to be wiped down.

“You guys are under appreciated,” Emma comments as she looks up at Ruby.

“Glad someone realizes it,” the brunette grins before they both hear the bell cling. “ Graham,” Ruby breathes and her husband walks over to her and smiles. He kisses her cheek and then her lips and Emma has to keep from scrunching up her face at the amount of cute they’re sporting. Ruby wraps an arm around her husband’s non existent waist and pulls him close.

“Emma,” she says and the blonde stops what she’s doing to look up at the pair. “ This.. if Graham. Graham- Emma,” she introduces. Graham extends his hand and Emma wipes hers on the dry cloth.

“Sorry, I would shake your hand but, I was kinda dealing with some chemicals and I don’t wanna pass them on,” she blushes and bites the inside of her cheek. Graham just smiles.

“It’s perfectly fine,” he says before putting his hand back at his side. “ So, you’re new here,” he comments and Emma bobs her head, but Ruby answers.

“She’s supposedly just passing through, but didn’t count on ever getting back home because she decided to be a dumb dumb and not bring any money and have less than half a tank of gas- which reminds me.. You’re gonna have to send some guys out to get her car since it just made it over the townline,”

“Townline?”

“Yeah, her car gave out,” Ruby grins and Graham makes and ahhh face.

“I’ll send some guys to get it in the morning, then. So, how are you liking it here so far, I see Granny already gave you a job,” Graham comments as he grins and Emma looks down and back up at herself.

“Yeah,” she starts as she plays with the apron, “ she’s filling in a favour for my dad,”

“Oh! Who’s your father?”

“You’d be surprised,” Ruby said lightly before she exited the conversation and went in the back to check on her grandmother. Graham looked at his wife who waved them off before he turned back to the blonde before him.

“Who’s your dad,” he asks with clear confusion on his face.

“Ever heard of a man named, David Nolan?”

“Dave’s your dad?!!” He asks and it’s apparent that he’s surprised. He’s smiling now and so is Emma and then before she notices it, she’s airbourne and being hugged tightly. She laughs because this feels okay, and then he puts her down, a smile still firmly there on his face. “ I can’t believe it. You’re little Emma,” Graham says and she’s blushing.

“Yeah, that’s me,”

“Yeah, it is. I can see it now. Your mother’s dimpled chin but your father’s eyes and hair.. You’re definitely a Nolan,” he smiles.

“Yeah.. I kind of just go by Swan now,” she corrects and Graham nods, not even remotely phased by the change in name.

“So, how long you planning on being here for?”

“I don’t really know. I quit my job back in Boston and pretty much like Ruby said came with what was in my duffel,”

“You sound so much like your father right now. He’s always wanted to do something like that, but he just never got up the courage,”

“Must be his spirit living through me, huh,” Emma jokes and Graham laughs.

“Must be,” the man says. “ Now, I know Ruby mentioned something to you about being the acting deputy, and I’d like to tell you that you’d start out as acting deputy, however, you need to train. You need proper training before I can give you a gun and slap a badge on your chest.. So, how good are you, athletically?”

“I took after my mom, Ruby says, but I’m pretty good. I played ball all through junior and high school and kept up some sports through college. Now in the case of a gun. I’m not even sure I can aim that thing right, but I learn pretty quick, so…”

“Mmmm, that’s good enough. Okay, I’ll teach you when I take my god daughter out tomorrow,”

“Your god daughter?”

“Yeah,” Graham smiles. “ Positive you’ve met her already. You came in around, Twelve?”

“About that,” Emma nods.

“Yeah, so you’d have seen her around lunch time with her mother,”

“Short, shoulder length hair, barely noticeable freckles,”

“Which one,” Graham asks, grinning because Emma just described both mother and daughter.

“I dunno,” she says and he laughs.

“Well, Noellia’s short. So is Regina. She’s also got shoulder length hair, like Regina and they both have freckles. Now had you said grey eyes or hazel-brown, then I’d have known you meant Noly for grey and Regina for hazel-brown. I’ll be taking her out to the range tomorrow to finish her lesson,”

“How good is she. She’s like five-,”

“-four, but she’s pretty spot on. Of course I’m there to hold it with the recoil, and she’s not strong enough to load the clip, but she can load the barrels and she’s got everything else down,”

“Damn. I’m being outshined by a toddler,”

“If you learn as quick as you say, you should be about the same level as her with a few classes,” Graham teases and Emma smirks. They continue to talk and talk and Graham asks Emma about her parents and she answers the best she can. She informs Graham that her father was wondering if he’d changed his number and said he’d really love it if Graham called so they could plan something more than just a game of catchup. Graham agrees without a second thought on it and immediately calls the number Emma gives him. He goes off into conversation with David and Emma continues to clean the tables before Ruby joins in and helps her out.

“Don’t get used to it, I’m only doing it cus it’s your first day and most of the women here didn’t even last two hours,”

“But it’s not even that bad. You guys are under appreciated by the townspeople- sure, but other than that. You’ve got like the best job. You get to talk to them anyway you want and they love it. Anywhere else and you’re taking the most crap from idiots who can’t bother to smile on a regular day,” she grouses and Ruby gives her the eyes.

“Beantown sounds a bit… mean,”

“Most of the time, yeah, but other times, it’s like heaven, except when it’s not,”

“And you decided to come to the sleep ridden town of StoryBrooke,”

“What can I say. Adventures take me where they take me,”

“It surely did… looks like my husband is going to be on the phone with your dad all night,”

“Sorry about that,”

“Nah, don’t. It’s good for him. He barely talks to anyone else as it stands. The fact that he even spoke to you tonight says a lot,”

“He that anti-social,”

“More so- socially awkward, but people don’t understand that. They think because of his status in school, he was some big thing, but Graham’s really soft spoken,”

“You’re the voice and he’s the reason,” Emma smiled and Ruby nodded like she got it.

“Exactly that.. So, he’s gonna teach you how to fire a gun,”

“He is. And I’m kind of excited about it,”

“Trigger happy, much?”

“Shut up,”

“Pfft, not on your life. I’m the voice, remember?”

“Yes, a voice lacking its reason,”

“Such a smart ass, Swan,”

“I pride myself on it. Now, I need to finish this up because Granny threatens to hit me with the soup spoon. She does that again and I’d be inclined to actually believe she would,”

“Oh trust me. She would,” Ruby laughed before she felt around her head. “ Feel,” she told the blonde who did just that. “Feel that lump,”

“God, please don’t tell me it’s the-,”

“-soup spoon. Yes, she cracked me in the head because I wouldn’t eat, so imagine what she’d do to you if you didn’t,”

“My head hurts now,” Emma laughed but it sounded painful.

“That’s the fear getting to you,” Ruby answered. “ Now, go do that,” she pointed, “I’ll go finish up some other things so you can rest. Graham’s not one to be late when he’s teaching people, so, get to it and I’ll see you in the morning,”

“I didn’t know I signed up for substitute parents,” the blonde grinned before Ruby bumped her shoulders.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Regina and her mother talked themselves peckish and the woman got up to go and get her mother something to eat. Along the way, she’d bumped into Whale and asked him some questions relating to Cora’s health and much like she’d expected, he still had nothing. She sighed and thanked him before she found the cafeteria that usually stayed open around those hours. All the nurses and interns and attendings on call were either there or outside trying to catch themselves. Since it was a sleepy town, they didn’t have too many casualties or fatalities to be concerned about, but when they got them, it came like a train that just wrecked days and days of hospital staff. She made her way to the line and picked up whatever the hell it was her mother had send her for. She’d given her a visual description of it so that Regina got the right thing and now that she was looking at the odd choices for soft foods and desserts and lunches and dinners, she can see why her mother gave a visual. Everything pretty much looked like it’d been through a personal war. She got to the front and when asked what she wanted, she smiled and pointed at three things and asked for two bottles of orange juice. Every once in a while she’d drink it, but since she was in the hospital, she figured she needed to compensate for her immune system. After she gets their food, she makes her way back to the room and notices her mother has left her bed once again. She hears coughing and it’s coming from the bathroom. Regina rests the food down and opens the door to see Cora coughing up blood. It’s rich and it’s dark and it’s splattering and painting the basin. Her hands begin to shake and all she can do is whimper,

“mommy,” before Cora looks up with a sad face and tries to calm her down, but it’s no use. Regina’s crying and she’s crying “mommy” with a consistent feeling of dread. She reaches for her mother and quickly sits her down and rushes for Whale, who bumps her at the door. Cora had already pressed the call button and Whale decided to come instead of the nurse. He quickly checks Cora over by going through the basics and everything else before he calls for a nurse and orders her to get him some pill that Regin can’t even pronounce. He tells the woman to take two and she does before he tells her he’ll monitor her for the rest of the night and see how she recovers. Whale leaves shortly after and the room is in utter silence. Regina’s off to the side, still crying at the prospect of her mother dying the day her daughter threw a tantrum to see her. She thinks of it with the way her father is out of town for God knows how long and won’t be there if Cora slips under and dies. She’s thinking about how she _is_ there and would be the only one of Cora’s immediate family, there to suffer the loss without any form of a way to help. “ mommy,” she whimpers once again, because it’s painful to know this is a possibility and that it could happen if she blinked. Everything and anything can happen if she blinked. If she even let her eyes flutter, something could go wrong, and that’s scaring the hell out of her.

“I’m okay, darling. I’m okay,” Cora repeats like a mantra before she’s up like nothing happened and walking over to her bed. She’s never weak. Never once is she weak when she’s in the hospital, so it’s no surprise to Regina that the woman is woman as good as she is, but what is a surprise is how easily she brushes it off. More than likely it’s to protect her, but that’s not what she wants. As much as she hates it, in the same breath, she needs her mother to… care more.

“You’re not okay,” Regina chokes out.

“Regina, darling, I am,” Cora says but Regina shakes her head.

“You’re not,” she cries a little louder and Noly  begins to stir. Regina quickly pushes the tears away and sits in the corner, putting her feet up in the chair and wrapping her arms around her legs. Cora sighs and sits on the edge of the bed and pulls out the food. She looks down at it and then back up at her daughter.

“Thank you,” she whispers before she tries to smile, but Regina hides her face. Cora sighs once more and begins to eat her food.

 

It was going to be a long night.


	3. Training Day. Part 1

It’s the next morning when Regina stirs awake, her eyes puffy from the tears she’d cried the night before and her throat a little sore from trying to keep the pain in. She sits up in the extremely uncomfortable hospital chair that they’d just shoved into the room and rubs at her neck with a wince permanently etched on her face. Her eyes wander over to where her mother lay with her daughter and a sad smile instantly forms on the young woman’s face. She stands up a bit wobbly before she makes her way over to the hospital bed and looks down at them. Regina runs her fingers across her mother’s face, brushing the hair away from her eyes and just watches as her mother sleeps peacefully. Cora’s face scrunches up a little when she feels hairs tickle her face and her eyes flutter open. They focus and her daughter’s face is before her. She smiles at her and Regina smiles back.

“Good morning, darling,” she gets out a bit hoarse.

“Morning, mama,” Regina whispers to her and Cora lifts a hand to Regina’s cheek.

“You must’ve slept terribly,” the woman says through a light laugh and Regina nods with her own laugh matching Cora’s.

“I did.. that chair did nothing for my spine and made my neck hurt even more,” she admits and her mother bobs her head in understanding. “How did you sleep,” she hears Regina ask and Cora bobs her head once more, left then right- in contemplation.

“Better than usual.. especially since you’re both here.. I just wish your father and sister were as well,” she said and Regina rested a hand on her shoulder.

“You know they would be here if they could,” she reassures the woman before bending to kiss her cheek.

“I know,” Cora sighs. “Speaking of, have you heard from your sister lately?”

“No.. not since the last time you were in the hospital and even then she kept telling me I was worrying too much and that she was waiting for me to send Noly over to stay with her for a year,”

“And what of your father,” her mother queried and she shrugged a bit.

“Daddy’s.. Daddy. He says he’ll be back in a few days and to tell you he loves you and of course he went off with Noly when she got the phone, but that’s normal,”

“It is,” Cora smiles. “And.. well, she is right about you worrying yourself ragged,” Cora agreed and Regina pouted. Her mother tapped her on the lip and she pouted harder. Cora grinned at the young brunette before her..” and she’s her niece, it would be a good thing if you did send her over at some point,”

“Yes, but she’s four, mother- and Zelena said a year.. A year!” She hissed lightly and Cora laughed once more.

“I’m sure she wouldn’t expect you to send your daughter over for an entire year,” the woman combatted and Regina’s eyebrow rose to its peak.

“You have no idea how serious she was about that,” the brunette informs her mother and Cora looks at her in question. Regina sighs lightly.

“Mother, I get that Zelena loves NoNo, but she’s obsessed with her. If she isn’t calling for you, she’s calling for her and she calls for her more than anything,”

“She did only get to spend a year with her,” Cora reminded. “And she calls me enough. She just misses her,”

“Yeah, but she misses her like Noly’s her daughter,”

“Again,” Cora began, “she misses her,” she ends and Regina sighs once more. “ That’s how it’s supposed to be with aunts and uncles, the same way your father and I spoil her like there’s no tomorrow, is the exact same way you’re supposed to be ensuring she’s a respectful, dependable and educated young woman. Zelena didn’t have enough time to spend with her when she was born, Regina, we all know that. She was back and forth between school, I’m sure you can understand why she calls for her so consistently and wants to see her. She hasn’t seen her since I first ended up in the hospital. She wants to see how much her little bird grew up… Sweetheart, I know that  _ you _ barely got any time with your sister growing up, but don’t let it be the same for Noellia, and you can always go with her, that way you can spend some time with your sister as well,” Cora tried but Regina shook her head.

“I can’t.. I can’t leave you here by yourself,”

“Darling, I’m not by myself,”

“You will be if Noly and I go,”

“I’ll call your father and he’ll stay with me,” Cora said but Regina shook her head.

“You know daddy won’t be able to stay the entire time,” Regina reminded and Cora sighed.

“Regina,” she begged.

“Mother, no. I can’t go and leave you here by yourself. I can’t afford to not be here if something happens to you, because if something happened to you, then I-I’d… I’d never forgive myself,” Regina whimpered and her eyes began to water.

“Shh shh,” Cora cooed her child and watched the young woman wipe away at tears, roughly. “Regina, sweetheart, I’m not going anywhere,”

“We don’t know that,” her daughter sniffled.

“No, we don’t-,” Cora agreed, “-but I will not let this plague you just because of fear. When will you ever live your life if all you do at the end of the day is worry about losing those around you,”

“I don’t care about anything else- but you,”

“And I am well aware of that, but I will ask you again- when will you begin living for yourself? When will you just stop worrying about us all dying and start indulging in our existence?”

 

The words hung in the air for a moment as Regina thought on and on about the questions her mother had put forward.

“I don’t know,” she finally answered, honestly and Cora could only smirk.

“Why not start today,”

“Because..mama, I’m afraid,” Regina answered before she buried her face in her mother’s chest.

“Of what, sweetheart?”

“Of being happy,” she mumbled and Cora stroked her hair away from her ear.

“We’re all afraid to be happy, but tell me.. what’s better, living in fear of being happy, or being content to know that you are happy?”

“Being content,” Regina admitted. “But, mama..” she groaned into Cora’s chest.

“No excuses,” Cora cooed as she thumbed Regina’s earlobe. “Be happy, Regina,” she commanded and her daughter nodded against her chest. 

“I forgot to tell you, Jacob said Mister White’s been asking for you,” she groaned and Cora rolled her eyes.

“He wasn’t asking for me, trust me when I say that,” the woman informed her daughter and Regina groaned again.

“Please don’t tell me he’s still trying to convince you to make me marry him?”

“He is,” Cora grimaced. “ But I’d die before I let that man even think he had so much as a chance to even speak to you. Your father would probably crucify him on the spot,”

“Doubt it.. Daddy barely knows the man,”

“He doesn’t need to know him to threaten him,” Cora grinned and Regina laughed lightly. “You know I would never force you to marry him- or anyone for that matter, right?”

“I know, mother,” she sighed almost happily.

“Good because I’ve never wanted to strangle a human being more than I have when it comes to that man,”

“Mother, it’s okay,” Regina said as she tried to calm her mother. 

“The hell it is,” Cora grumped. “From the day he saw you he’d been on our asses about marrying you. If it wasn’t you it was nothing. I’m surprised he wasn’t the same way with Zelena-,”

“-Probably because Zelena looked like she’d actually murder him if he tried anything and I looked like some weak little thing,”

“You are not weak,” Cora defended but Regina laughed.

“I didn’t say I was, but I appear that way more often than not,” her daughter shrugged against her chest.

“Yes, well, I’ll still strangle him if he even so much as lays a hand on you,”

“I doubt he would try anything, mother. He seems to be waiting for the perfect time to ask you.. which to him is just about every damn day… I have to go in the office today. He’s going to invade my bubble,” Regina finally said after a beat and her mother nodded.

“I remember.. can’t you just work from home, you know this will only just leave you around him and I’m not too okay with my youngest being around a man with one foot already in the grave and a fetish,”

“I wish I could, but the files are there and there’s a lot of things I’ll need him to sign off on before I can move forward,”

“Don’t,” Cora said and Regina’s head rose from her mother’s chest.

“I’ll have to,” Regina said but Cora shook her head.

“You won’t. It’s not mandatory,”

“But he-,”

“- Regina.. steer clear of that man. Just, organize the files and leave it with his assistant- she’ll know what to do with them. I’ve already told her prior to this situation, how to handle things that concern any of you and that man.. God knows I regret ever asking you to fill in for me,” the woman said with a disappointed look but Regina shrugged uneasily.

“I needed something to do,”

“You already had something to do, dear. You were working in a pre-school,”

“Yes, a pre-school that understands our situation and is giving me the week to deal with it,” Regina reminded as she rubbed Cora’s shoulder but the woman huffed.

“I’m still not okay with it. He just.. He gets to me and in him getting to me- it frustrates the hell out of me because that just means his ass doesn’t understand the word no. Your father and I have been dodging this bullet where it concerns you since you were sixteen and did your internship at city hall.”

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

_ It was Monday, like usual, where all things started, this day started on a Monday. It was her first day on an internship for Mister Leopold White. She’d done the interview, sat at a roundtable with about six different people asking her multiple questions about the most random of things. Of course she answered them like a true scholar and apparently he’d wanted to hire her on the spot after that interview. Her mother had told her of the opportunity they were offering persons her age at dinner and had asked the teen if she wanted to take part in it and add something extra to her resume when she actually applied for another job. Regina had agreed even though she was more than certain she wouldn’t need that particular reference for what it was she truly intended to do. Zelena smiled and told her to go for it and their father had simply said ‘If it’s something you want to do, go for it, mija.’ With everyone being so supportive of her, Regina had taken a deep breath and nodded to her mother once more to solidify her agreement and Cora smiled at her before she called in and told them to book Regina’s spot. _

_ Post interview, the teen was grinning on the phone to her family that she’d been shortlisted and of course they were excited for her. Zelena had taken her to lunch to celebrate and seeing that she was free of classes for the day, they then went to a clothing store so that she could help her little sister pick out the perfect outfit for her first day. They’d spent the rest of the day together until Zelena was called away by a classmate who needed help and then it was back to the campus to deal with the extensive activities her club had planned out. Regina wasn’t very happy about her big sister constantly going, but she understood it. She had always understood it. So, she smiled it off and when Zelena apologised profusely for having to go, she merely smiled at her, hugged her and told her to go kick ass. That got the redhead to laugh. Zelena had kissed her sister’s head and then left, promising to bring her something sweet when she came back- and with Zelena, a promise was never broken.. With her entire family, promises were never broken. _

 

_ Regina lasted in City Hall’s deafening four walls, and lasted with Leopold White’s incessant need to have lunch with her up until her graduation, which was two years and by then- the contract and the project were both over so it was a perfectly timed transition. She’d then taken to applying at a pre-school that wasn’t too far out a walk from her parents’ home and had been working there since. Of course she did college, but she’d stopped at her associates degree by the time she was 21 and ended up taking a different course in life. ‘Dane’ came along.. Then Noly came along. Her mother began to become ill around the same time her father began to travel for business more and her sister was consistently gone because of school. ‘Dane’ died and Cora began to frequent the hospital more just as everything else remained the same. By Noly’s third birthday, it’d become something that seemed so normal, no matter how much she truly wish it wasn’t. _

 

“You’re thinking too hard,” Cora whispered to her and her hazel brown eyes fluttered lightly.

“I know,” she said with a sigh and her mother smirked just a bit.

“What’s on your mind, now?”

“Honestly.. Not much past what our lives became after everything that’s happened,”

“I don’t quite follow, sweetheart,” Cora informed her and Regina nodded because she knew that the words she was saying were a bit chopped.

“What I mean is that we aren’t the family we used to be and I miss that.. I miss us,”

“I’m sorry it’s not the same anymore, sweetheart. I know what it’s like to feel that way about our current situation, but I promise you at some point it will get better, it has to,”

“I hope so,” she sighs before she looks over at her daughter and smiles. “ I want her to see Lena.. I just don’t know when.. She’s just always busy and I don’t want either of them to feel like they didn’t get to spend enough time together because Zelena’s dealing with these last few classes where she should have been able to focus without us interrupting her,”

“You won’t be interrupting her, Regina. She  _ wants  _ you there. She wants you both there,”

“She can want us there until cows call, mother. It’s just…”

“It’s nothing,” Cora told her. “You’re still living and existing in fear. Stop it or else you’ll have nothing left in life to exist for,”

“I have all of you to exist for,”

“Yes, but what about yourself?”

“I don’t matter,” Regina mumbled as she shook her head and looked away from her mother’s eyes.

“Stop that,” Cora scolded. “You do, matter. Who in the hell made you believe that otherwise?” Cora questioned her youngest but Regina remained quiet.

“....Nothing, it’s.. nothing. No one made me feel that way,” she replied with the shake of her head.

“Regina-,” Cora began only to be cut off.

“No, mother… it’s fine,can we just.. Drop it… please?” Her mother sighed, lip quirking into a frown as she nodded.

“Very well… So, besides the office, what’s on your agenda?” she asked, changing the subject. Regina just shrugged a bit.

“Nothing.. Noly’s going to be with Ruby and Graham, today, but if Whale clears you before I’m done in the office.. ..” she fell silent, but Cora knew.. she always knew.

“Where are you taking me to lunch,” her mother queries with a grin.

“Anton’s,” Regina answers and Cora smirks.

“Oh, that cute little bistro up a ways from here.. That would be lovely.. I’d been nagging your father to take me there ever since they opened.”

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

“RISE . AND. SHINE- LAZY BONES!” came the oh so nerve frying yell of an elderly lady.. Well, Granny. She’d decided to wake up the sleeping blonde at the most ungodly hour of the century.

“It’s literally six o’clock,” the blonde groaned into her pillow before she reached around for something to launch against the door of the room she was staying in. Whatever she picked up and threw, sounded like it either broke on impact or cracked.. That she was okay with, because it stopped the incessant banging that was happening on her door- for all of three seconds and then it just started again. This time, it was louder and the voice was much more frustrated.

“Get your thin, blonde behind out here, right now!” Granny commanded and Emma just about started to cry. She already went to bed late because she was up looking for things to put in her ‘room’. And by things, she was basically going through what she’d put in storage and making a list of the things she wanted August and the girls to bring whenever it was they came down. She tried sitting up and instantly regretted it because the pain she hadn’t felt before was the pain she was feeling now. Everything felt like it’d been twisted out of place and shoved into a box and that was about as good a description the blonde could think of with the way her body felt. “Emma!” her name was yelled this time and she jolted from her trance of thought and yanked her head left then right in a very petulant style.

“I’m coming,” she tried answering without sounding annoyed and Granny made a hmm sound on the other side of the door.

“Good, when you do, breakfast will be waiting in the kitchen for you,” Granny said to her, instantly knowing that the blonde would jerk up at that and smile. Of course she did. She loved food. She loved anything that even remotely tasted of food.

“Then I’ll be ready in ten,” the blonde quickly answered and heard the old woman laugh and smirk on the other side.

“I don’t expect anything less when it comes to you and food. Just like your father,” the woman snickers and the blonde finds herself grinning just a little at that.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~

 

“Morning,” the blonde grins as she’s descending the last of the stairs and makes her way behind the counter to head into the kitchen.  She’s in a simple t-shirt and a pair of distressed jeans and some comfortable sneakers. Classic Emma Swan style. There’s a smirk that comes from the brunette who is already present behind said counter as she regards the blonde.

“Well, good morning to you too. Why so excited?”

“Food,” Emma says with a cheeky grin and the woman rolls her eyes but laughs.

“I can already see that you’re going to be  _ the _ bottomless pit of the diner,” Ruby jokes and Emma shoves her shoulder.

“I’d take insult to that if it wasn’t true,” she begins before she looks around the diner that’s somewhat congested. “ So.. am I on this morning or is someone else coming in?”

“As far as I know, Courtney should be in soon, but if she cancels then it falls on you until Graham comes over to take you to the shooting range,” Ruby answers as her eyes fall on the receipts and tabs she’s been working on. She shuffles through them a bit frantically. “ Shit,” she swears as she continues to shuffle through the papers.

“What’s wrong,” Emma queries as she looks at Ruby with worry. Ruby shakes her head but she responds with,

“I forgot to drop off the sales ledger and pick up the other one,”

“Sales ledger? You mean those thick books you record expenses in?” Emma asks and Ruby nods, eyes not leaving the papers before her. The blonde bites the inside of her cheek on that one before she asks, “Where is it?”

“City Hall,” Ruby sighs. “ And I need it because I’ve got all of this to put into it,” she explains as she raises all the other papers to eye level.

“But.. why is it in City Hall, I thought you were supposed to keep things like that to yourself,”

“Not here. The law stated that anyone in ownership of any establishment considered a business was required to document everything via ledger and send them in weekly to be checked over and.. whatever the hell else it is they do with them. Based on that they determine how high to tax us and if they can fund the businesses anymore than they already are,” she says and Emma’s face scrunches up.

“Who’s the idiot that thought of that idea,” Emma scoffs and Ruby raises a brow before she says,

“Your grandfather,” and Emma’s mouth drops open. It becomes obvious to the brunette in that moment that the blonde had no clue. “ You didn’t know?”

“N-no.. My mother never really talked about him.. ever, really. As far as I knew, he was either dead or just.. Absent. Besides that, I never really thought that far to even find out if any of my grandparents were alive,” she says with a shake of her head as she swallows a bit.

“I can only tell you of your dad’s parents and about your mother’s mother… if you want to know,” Ruby offered and for a moment there was silence until Emma nodded.

“Okay,” she whispered before she found a stool for the blonde to sit on and put an arm on her shoulder. “ Your father’s father died when your grandmother was pregnant with him and your uncle James. He was held at gunpoint, robbed and .. beaten to death,” Ruby swallowed and shut her eyes. She took a few breaths before she continued. “ His mother died just after your mother had you.. Your grandmother- your mother’s mother, she had heart related issues. She died when your mother was eight,”

“W-what was.. What did they do for a living,” the blonde managed and Ruby tilted her head back in thought.

“Your father’s parents had a farm and your mother’s mother was a stay at home mother.. She accompanied your grandfather to a lot of town events and held those Brunch things and-

“-She was basically a Stepford wife,” the blonde interrupted and Ruby paused to nod.

“She was,” the brunette finally said and Emma sighed before she stood up.

“That’s all I needed to know,” the blonde says to Ruby before she turns to smile at her a bit uneasily and Ruby knows without a word that Emma no longer wants to even think about the situation, but what surprises her is the blonde’s offer. “ I can go into City Hall and pick up the ledger for you,”

“Emma, no. I couldn’t ask you to do that, especially after-,”

“-Ruby-,” she interrupts the obviously concerned woman. “ -it’s fine. Trust me, I’m not even the slightest bit bothered by it. It’s just.. New,” is the word she ends up settling for and Ruby just looks at her, which makes her laugh uneasily. “Can you not look at me like that.. I’m fine, I swear. Just tell me what I’m doing and I’ll get it for you because I doubt Granny would be okay with you going for a walk this early in the morning to pick up the ledger,” she says but she smiles and the smile is surprisingly easing. Ruby sighs but she smiles a bit.

“Okay,” she agrees. “I need you to drop this one off,” she says before searching out the blue hardback ledger. “ And bring in the other one. It’s Red and it’ll say G.Maw, but just ask the receptionist or his assistant.. he has like four of them- for the drop box and the outbox tray. She’ll explain the rest of it to you. And since you’re technically working here now, this’ll be something you’re gonna end up doing at some point or another. Just fill out what you can and whatever you can’t, leave it blank, they’ll do the rest. They’ll realize you’re new and run you through the process,” Ruby explains and Emma nods. She takes hold of the ledger and looks at it before looking back up at Ruby.

“Do I have to see him,” she finds herself asking and Ruby shakes her head.

“Unless there’s an issue with the ledger. No, you won’t have to see him at all. He doesn’t leave the office unless it’s to… never-mind,” she shakes her head. “Like I said, you won’t run into him,”

“But what if he wants to know who I am.. Don’t receptionists and assistants tell him about new people,” she questions and Ruby gives and uneasy shrug.

“I would hope not..”

“Did he do it with you?”

“No, he didn’t,” Ruby answers but she’s keeping something back, however, the blonde can’t quite pinpoint what it is. “But if he finds out, I doubt it’ll be from them. If anything, talk around the town and who’s kid you are is more than likely going to get to him before anyone in the office bothers to mention you… and unless you intentionally try to meet him, I don’t think there’s much there to worry about,”

“I hope not,” Emma sighed before she looked around the diner. “I need to let Granny know that breakfast is going to have to wait,” she remembers before she turns and begins to walk away. She says something over her shoulder to Ruby about not being that nice that early in the morning without food and Ruby ends up laughing before she turns back to her work and continues on in what she was originally doing.

  
  
  


“Sit. Eat,” Granny said without waiting for Emma to even greet her with a good morning. The blonde smirks a bit before she shakes her head.

“Can’t just yet. I’ve got an errand to run for Ruby,” she informs the woman who pauses for a moment.

“What kind of errand?”

“A ledger based one,” she answers and Granny turns to her. Emma takes in the woman’s attire.  She had on a giant apron that covers her in just about every area, thin silver rimmed glasses and some comfortable clothes that Emma can tell have seen better days, considering they were covered in substances of food’s past.

“Mm,” the woman finally says and though Emma’s confused by that response, she says nothing in return. “ Take this with you, then, “Granny commands before she takes up Emma’s plate and puts it in a bag for her along with a fork. She folds the bag off and slides it over the island and towards the blonde. Emma nods appreciatively and picks up the food before she turns to leave. Granny says nothing more, and that’s quite possibly because if she said anything it wouldn’t necessarily be in any way , shape, or form- a nice string of words. So as Emma exits the kitchen, she turns back to her work and as Emma passes by the counter where Ruby is, she holds up the packaged meal and ledger, then nods toward the door, indicating she was leaving to deal with the ledger issue and then eat.. somewhere.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The young brunette is curled up in her mother’s hospital bed after their conversation they’d not realized they had so early in the morning. She’s sleeping peacefully against Cora’s chest until whimpers wake her. They’re light, but they’re just as pleading as an ordinary and conscious one. Her eyes flutter open, weakly and then her ears perk up at the tone and strain in the sounds of the room. Regina lifts her head and at first she looks up, thinking that it’s quite possibly her mother, but it’s not. It’s Noellia and Regina’s not even sure what the actual issue is, but before anything else registers, the first thing that comes to mind is to calm her daughter down. 

 

She’s out of the bed quicker than her body has time to acknowledge the movement and scooping her little one up in her arms. She begins to bounce her and hum to her, and even though it’s not a traditional children’s lullaby, it works instantly. Noly’s whimpers subside and the distress that was obvious on her little face, dissipates. Regina sighs in appreciation that the worst of it is gone and then she hears a voice. It’s her mother’s.

“You have truly outdone yourself, Regina,” Cora says in a very sleepy tone but she’d managed to sit up and reach a hand out for her daughter to come closer. She does and she sits on the side of the bed where Noly was- the little girl still cradled in her arms. “I am so proud of the woman you’ve become, my sweet child,” she says and Regina tries to smile but she shakes her head and looks away.

“I won’t be as good as you were,” she acknowledges but now Cora is the one shaking her head.

“You should never strive to be how I was, Regina. Strive to be the mother you wish to see,” she tells her.

“But I’ve only ever wanted to be like you… you were the only one who was there when everyone else had to go.. I just.. I want to be like the woman who gave me so much and asked nothing in return,”

“But darling, you are her, and so much more than I could ever have been,”

“No,” Regina disagrees. “You were and are more than amazing. You were everything I ever needed and even to this day, you are more than I ever could have asked for,” she admits and Cora smiles at her.

“All I did was try,”

“Well, you succeeded,” Regina told her.

“And so will you,” Cora combats and Regina’s head drops slightly as she looks at her little girl.

“I truly hope so,” her daughter sighs as she kisses the top of her daughter’s head. Cora’s eyes travel over to the table in order to check the time once more, but what she sees is a plate of untouched food on Regina’s behalf.

“Darling, why haven’t you eaten,” she questions and Regina shrugs slightly before she responds.

“I wasn’t hungry,” she says but Cora knows it’s more than that.

“ _ Regina _ ,” she reprimands and her daughter pouts a bit.

“I was worried,” she finally admits. “ I was worried, so I didn’t eat,” she continues.

“What did you eat yesterday?”

“Half a salad,” she admits.

“Why in the hell are you eating a salad, you’re about as big as Eva. The only difference is you have hips and a rather acceptable chest,” Cora says but that last line was a bit of a tease and Regina smirks before she laughs.

“I need to eat them,or else I’ll end up with too much of both,”

“Nonsense. You’re perfect and salads won’t make you any different. You need food, sweetheart, not the prettier version of grass,”

“Mother, it’s fine,” Regina tries but Cora being Cora, won’t settle for it.

“It most certainly is not. You’ve gone from eating food of substance to eating absolutely nothing and what you do eat isn’t enough to sustain you. Eat. Food,” she enunciates and Regina puts a hand up in surrender.

“I’ll try,” she says.

“You better do more than try. You worry too much about everyone else and in the process you lose yourself because of it. I can’t lose my youngest because she’s so stressed out that she doesn’t realize she’s surely wasting away,”

“I’m not wasting away, mother,” defends.

“You are,” accuses and they both sigh.Regina looks away from her mother and her eyes train on the window. She feels the bed dip and shift and then Cora’s arms are around her and her chin is resting on the young woman’s shoulder.  “I love you, and I want you here longer than me. Longer than your father- hell, if you could outlive Noly, that would be perfect, but I need you to take care of yourself. I need you to be okay, Regina… for so long you’ve went without being okay, that has to stop. It  _ needs _ to stop and the only way it can is if you stop it. I won’t be able to exist knowing you were so worried over things that we can’t change and that creates more problems for you.. Please, sweetheart….just- be okay,” she begged and it was in that moment her daughter nodded.

“I will be, mama.”

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

The streets and roads of St. B were beginning to become a bit congested as the blonde began down a path she’d no clue of. Her eyes followed cars and bicycles and school buses that all seemed to be going in the exact same direction. Store owners that were clad in their casual clothing- some with their smocks- others without, were turning their signs over and announcing their openness to the public just as those who worked for more prestigious companies were exiting their cars and walking into the offices, briefcases and files and folders bound to them. There was no sound of anything other than the noise vehicles made or the occasional hi that the blonde received as she tutted her way through the town. She heard the giggles of the children as she continued on, passing the elementary school as she went. It all seemed to function so well, and then, she was pulled from her trance as she took in her surroundings a bit better.

“Probably should have asked for directions before I left,” she whispers to herself because she’s come to a ‘dead end’ in a sense that it’s a large clock tower and what she assumes can only be a library it’s attached to- as they’re known to be like that. She looks around and sees nothing of familiarity. “Classic,” she mumbles to herself as she laughs at the sheer stupidity of her own actions. Emma then spins around completely and looks straight down the road, still, nothing is familiar- so, she decides to do something she’d probably regret later and she goes into the elementary school and heads straight for an office, that’s if she could find one. 

 

Of course she doesn’t really find anyone at the counter and if they are at the counter, they’re dealing with children and parents and handing out slips and passes. She’s there for all of a half an hour and then it hits her.  _ It’s the first day of school...shit! _ So she’s screwed, currently, but she isn’t about to give up. She does exit the school, clearly regretting ever entering and goes back in the direction of which she came, but the minute she hits a corner, she’s stumped. Just to add worse to worse, she doesn’t have a number for either Ruby or Granny. She groans, ready to throw everything in her hand until there’s a honk, and it’s not a ‘move out of the way’ or ‘wake up’ kind of honk because she’s sure she’s not illegally in a road or sleeping on the pedestrian crossing. The honk is an alert to tell her to turn around, so she does and she’s met with a smile from Graham.

“You look lost,” he says with a grin as he squints and leans out of the window a bit.

“I am,” she admits with a sigh and a grin.

“Get in,” the man tells her as he shakes his head and she perks up before dashing around to the passenger side and climbing in. “Where to,” he asks her before he takes one look at what’s in her hand and then shakes his head. “Nevermind, I got it…” there’s a beat of silence before Graham opens his mouth and speaks.” Sooo, you’re running your first business errand this early in the morning,”

“Ruby needed them. She said she’d forgotten to drop this off and pick the other up,” Emma tells him and he nods as he makes a right turn.

“Ahh, so, she went through the process with you on how to do it?” he asks her as he momentarily looks away from the wheel

“Somewhat-,” the blonde shrugs “-she said to just ask for help and what I can’t answer, they’ll fill it in for me,”

“Yeah, sounds about right. It took me three months to learn how to do that effectively for both Granny’s and the station.”

“Why is the station filing financial reports like that. You guys don’t make sales-,”

“- I know, but we have expenses so the way I record for the station is massively different from a regular business,”

“I’d hope so,” the blonde says and Graham laughs a bit.

“Just like your dad,” he tells her before he looks over at her.

“What was my dad like?”

“Family,” is all Graham says. “He was and always will be that to me,” he continues and somehow, Emma gets it. She nods her head. Both people turn their view back to the road as Graham continues to drive

“I’m kind of frightened to go in, if I’m being honest,” she admits after a while and Graham slows the car to a stop at a curb.

“It’s about your grandfather isn’t it?” She nods and he sighs. 

“Ruby tried to explain and or warn and basically.. She tried to keep me at ease because she never realized I never met him..”

“I get it. I can go with you if you want. They know me well enough to know that I just wanna get the hell in and get the hell out,”

“I couldn’t ask you to do that,”

“You’re not asking. I’m offering. Trust me, I’ll get us in and out quicker than you can blink,” he tells her and she rolls her eyes but smiles.

“Okay.”

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

“Sweetheart, there’s been some chatter around the hospital about a new person in town,” Cora says to Regina as she’s already up and out of the bed and walking towards the bathroom. Regina is sitting in the chair opposite the bed, whilst Noly is still sleeping in the bed.

“You heard that, already,” she queries and her mother sticks her head out of the bathroom and rolls her eyes.

“Dear, the only thing you don’t hear is silence,” she says in a tone that Regina has to laugh at. “If it isn’t the nurses yammering on about it, it’s the doctors questioning the relation of new people or newborns… I don’t know, nor do I care, but this is a new one… have you met them yet?”

“No I can’t say that I have,” Regina says with a shake of her head. “But Noly has,” she continues and Cora’s face pinches in question. “ Apparently she was in the diner when I took Noly in. I wasn’t paying attention,” Regina waves off.

“She?” Cora questions and her daughter nods. “ So it  _ is _ true,” she concludes and Regina’s confused, rightly so. Cora catches her confusion and waves a hand. “So you haven’t gotten a name or anything,” she asks and at first Regina shakes her head until she thinks a bit.

“Wait.. I think Ruby said her name is Emma?”

“It’s her,” Cora whispers as she exits the bathroom, toothbrush in hand and toothpaste just shy of the brush.

“Who’s  _ her _ ?” she finds a question in all of it. Cora is silent for a moment and Regina thinks on, finally, it hits her. “Mother,” she calls and Cora looks up, she’s brushing her teeth at this point. “Is she the daughter of the couple you told me actually left StoryBrooke?” Her mother raises a finger and enters the bathroom before she spits out the toothpaste. Regina follows her into the bathroom but remains in the doorway and waits for her mother’s words.

“White’s daughter, yes,” she answers as she washes out her mouth before she’s once again brushing her teeth. “ We weren’t-,” she’s paused to spit again. - the closest of friends, but we did have lunch every so often, and I was there for their sending off party. It was shortly after their engagement that she found out she was pregnant and they moved to Boston-,”

“-where you and daddy adopted me,” she whispers sadly. Cora stops all her actions and washes her mouth out before wiping her hands on a dry towel and taking Regina’s face in her hands. She pulls her away from the structure of the doorpost and kisses her forehead before looking the young brunette in the eyes and whispering back,

“And I’m so glad we did.”

 

Even though those words hung and clung to her, her mind still forced a flashback. They were always vivid and always of particular instances.

 

~~~~~~~~

_ She remembers being a child- foster child, on the verge of running from the home in which she stayed with hundreds of other children. She remembers walking to and from school, sometimes late at night because she’d put her brain to use and began tutoring other children. She’d had to give another teen girl a visual as to what she did, because she never spoke much, and she remembers that girl simply belting, _

_ “So you’re the tutoree?” but she giggles silently and shakes her head and the girl is confused before she catches on. “ Oh the tutorer- I mean, tutor.” _

 

_ She can also remember how it felt to keep that entire part of her hidden from but one person. She remembers what it felt like the day she’d ended up losing that person. She remembers it all and it all remembers her. They’ve danced that dance so many times that both she and her memories know one another’s moves without hesitation. _

_ She’d lost hope at some point in her young life of ever having a family or ever being apart of one. She knew at such a young age, she probably shouldn’t have felt that way, but she also realized that at some point she’d become the oldest in the home and that just made everything so much worse- _

 

“Regina, stop it,” her mother says to her and the young brunette shakes her head.

“Sorry,” she whispers but Cora shakes her head.

“Don’t. It’s okay,” she coos and there’s silence for a minute. “You’re going to be late,” Cora finally says but Regina can hear the way her mother isn’t too thrilled about telling her that. She can appreciate the concern and knows how much her mother worries, but she also knows that if she didn’t do this, if she didn’t cover for her whislt she was in the hospital, her mother would be even more frustrated when she was back in and that wasn’t something she needed Cora to end up back int he hospital for.

“I know,” she sighs as well before she turns her gaze to her little girl who is now stirring awake. Cora releases her daughter and Regina gathers up Noly as well as her bag and whatever else it was she’d brought along with her. She pauses where her mother stands and kisses her cheek before she tells her goodbye and is out the door.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

She never thought she’d be in a building- city hall at that, for this kind of thing. This wasn’t only a new thing, but a confusing thing as well. She’d still never completely understood why they  _ had _ to file their reports of sales and expenses that way, and it confused her that they wanted the police station to basically file it almost replicated, but still quite different. So there she stood, with Graham as they went through the process of drop offs and pickups. She’d be lying if she said she paid attention, because in all honesty, none of that felt like it was worth her attention. That and the fact that Graham told her he took three months to learn it, definitely made the blonde feel like if she really gave much of a damn past that point, then she’d take about a month and a half to learn it.

“This way,” she hears the man tell her and she looks up from the ledger to where Graham has his hand in motion. He’s pointing to a room where three women are sat behind deks, all clicking away at their computers and writing up things.  _ Must be his assistants,  _ she concluded in her head before she got up and followed Graham into the room and sat, awkwardly so. She zoned out because he was talking, he was handling the issues and all she had to do was sit there and let him. Emma truly thought she was in the clear until Graham turned to her and asked her to finish it because he’d just gotten a call. Of course with her not paying attention she was pretty much up shit creek with no paddle.

“Sheriff Graham has already done most of the work on the entry form, so I just need you to finish off this page and sign off on it. The receptionist in the front will direct you on where to go to drop off the ledger and pick up the other one,” the young woman said before she slid the paper over to Emma who took it with hesitance. She skimmed over it the first time around and realized it wasn’t as hard as she thought it would be when she began to fill in what she’d managed to learn. It wasn’t much but at least it didn’t look like an exam she didn’t study for- probably because Graham did most of the work like the woman said. As Emma filled out the rest of the paper, pretending that she knew what it was she was scribbling and reading, Graham walked back into the room and whispered that they needed to quickly finish because he got a call. She’d whispered back that he could just leave her, but he told her she would be more than lost if he left her by herself and she had to admit, he was right. She was no longer paying attention to whatever it is she was supposed to be doing, so Graham took over and finished it off. He signed the form and the woman nodded towards the door and the pair left. Just like she’d informed the blonde, there was a woman present to instruct them on where to go and sure enough the coloured, hard back ledger was sat in the pick up tray, right before a window. Another slip came out, Graham signed that as well before he placed the other ledger in the drop off tray and nodded towards the door.

“That’s a lot of work for two books,” Emma said

“You’re telling me,” he answered. “But it’s the law,”

“It’s starting to look even stupider than it sounded when Ruby explained it to me,” she groused and he laughed.

“You’ll get used to it,”

“I wish I didn’t have to,”

“Well, working for Granny or anyone else- station included, means you’re gonna end up filing that more often than you think,” he reminded her and she groaned as she dumped herself into the seat. Graham laughed once again before he pat her shoulder and buckled himself in. For a second there was silence, and then, he thought of an idea. “ How about I take you on your first adventure in this sleepy little town you may end up calling home for a while?” Emma rocked her head to the left and looked up at Graham.

“It’s not a cat up a tree is it?”

“Nope.. Vandalism,” he said with sadistic excitement and the blonde grinned.

“I’m for it,” the blonde agreed instantly and Graham nodded with a smile.

“Off we go, then.”

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

After her time in the hospital with her mother, Regina had taken Noly, buckled her into her carseat and began down the road and towards Granny’s. She wasn’t surprised when her daughter stirred awake, completely, and let her little eyes focus on where she was.

“Momma,” she called sleepily and Regina looked up into her rearview mirror.

“Baby girl,” she cooed and her daughter smiled a bit. “How are you, sweetheart,” she asked and Noly nodded which was indication that she was good. Noly then looked down at herself, strapped into her carseat and took in her attire. She wiggled her little feet and giggled at herself.

“Momma, why me still in jammies?” she queried, but just before she could get her answer, her mother’s phone rang. Regina apologised before she pulled the car to a stop on a curbside and answered.

“Dad,” she breathed.

“Hi, Regina,” he greeted and she smiled.

“How are you,” she asked and the man gave her a very short and very distant response. This was something she was used to where Henry was concerned. She knew why, and he knew why, but neither Cora nor Zelena had picked up on their ‘strained’ relationship in the way that one usually would. To anyone it would seem that way, but in all honesty, it wasn’t for the reason most  people thought.

“I’m good. Just finished a meeting with a few investors. How is everything there? How’s your mother?”

“She’s… still frustrated with Whale, but she’s fine otherwise,” Regina covered and instantly her father knew.

“ _ Mija _ ,” he called her, and he only called her that when he knew she kept a secret or he was encouraging her to follow her dreams. She sighed.

“She brought up blood,” the young woman finally said after she took a breath. Her father was silent for all of five seconds until he made a sound she couldn’t quite place and then she realize it was him covering as well but also trying to clear his throat from the wetness that developed because he was trying to hide his emotions. Regina didn’t need to see the man to know that he was shaking his head and wiping away at whatever little tears were forming.

“H-have you heard from Zelena,” he then asked in order to change the subject and though she shook her head, she still did give a verbal response.

“Not since mother was admitted, no,” she told him. “She mainly calls for Noly anyway, but I assume she’s fine,”

“You two haven’t talked much?” her father questions, though if he were being honest, he wasn’t necessarily surprised.

“We barely did as it stood growing up. It’s just gotten so much worse since she left,” the young woman says with a bit of bitterness lacing her tone.

“Regina,” he calls her name and she sighs. She knows that he’s either about to reprimand her or explain the situation to her, but it shocks her when none of that comes but an apology. “ I’m sorry you feel that way, sweetheart.... I know I can’t relate to whatever it is you feel between you and your sister, but know that she didn’t leave you intentionally and that she didn’t want to go because she knew how you’d feel. Sweetheart,” he sighs, “ Zelena loves you and if she could stay, she would. Don’t take her calls for Noellia as just that.. She calls me about you,” he tells her and she’s surprised.

“Why?”

“Because, she’s worried about you and can’t outrightly tell you that,” the man let’ his youngest know. “ The same way you and your mother have such a close relationship and worry about your sister and I is the exact same way we are about the two of you.. We’re just, further apart,” 

“I didn’t know,” she whispered and heard him laugh, just slightly.

“How could you. We’re all secretive because we care so much and because we care so much, we’re secretive.. sweetheart, your sister worries about you, don’t think that she doesn’t. She loves you more than anything, but the fear of making that known is something she can’t grasp. She wants you to see her as the strong sister who isn’t affected by anything that’s her weakness, but that’s what you are. You’re her weakness. You always have been. From the day they split the two of you up as children, she’s done nothing but worry about you; and at any point in time she feels that someone with the wrong intent, will either harm you or take you away from her,”

“I’m not going anywhere, daddy,” she says strongly.

“She doesn’t know that for sure. To her, you could be just as much of a mirage as anything else in her life, the only difference is, losing you a second time would hurt her worse than the first,”

“But.. I’m not going anywhere,” the young woman whispered a little quieter the second time.

“I  know you’re not,” her father says and she can feel the smile he’s giving off, so she’s smiling now as well. Regina cuts the ignition on the car and climbs out before she goes to the backdoor and opens it. Noly takes the hint and unbuckles herself before scrambling from her carseat and hopping out, her little pajama-clad feet making a soft thump on the concrete.

“Noly,” Regina calls, breaking the call she has with her father. “ your abuelo is on the phone. Would you like to talk to him,” she queried and was literally only allowed a moment before her little girl began to squeal.

“ABBY!” is what she would call him just because she was known for giving nicknames to just about everyone in her life. Noly reached up in a grabbing motion for the phone and her mother handed it over. She and her grandfather went off in conversation as Regina held her hand out and grabbed hold of Noly’s before she began to walk her little one towards the diner. Noly skipped and giggled as she and her grandfather continued to chat, much to Regina’s delight. Anything that ever made her daughter happy is something she could live with. Once they entered the diner, Regina guided the little girl to a booth and let her shimmy her way into her seat. Ruby instantly came over, a smile radiating as usual.

“She on the phone with your dad,” she asks the brunette mother as her chin tilts into the direction of her goddaughter. Regina nods and smiles.

“The one and only. How’s the morning, it seems a bit… quiet,” she comments as her eyes wander around the room.

“It is, but it’s either this or overly congested and everyone complaining that there isn’t enough waiters or waitresses,”she shrugs and Regina nods before she picks up the menue before her. She’s skimming it because she knows the menue out of her head, however, her decision to get anything will rely solely on how she feels within that moment, and in all honesty, all she wanted was some cereal.

“Maybe the town’s new visitor could help you out,” the brunette answered flippantly and rather off-handed.

“If I tell you she is, what would you say to that,” Ruby grinned as she picked up the menue, immediately knowing that Regina truly didn’t want anything. Out of most people, Ruby was amongst the few who actually knew when Regina was interested in something, someone or even giving it an iota of attention and when she just truly didn’t give a damn.

“Honestly.. I have no idea what to say to that except, that was quick,”

“Yeah, she started yesterday after my shift ended, but if the other girl doesn’t come in, she’s gonna have to cover  _ that _ shift….cereal?”

“Pleeease,” Regina groaned as she thrrew her head back. Ruby could only smile at her.

“Okay and what about little Rae?”

“Anything waffles,” Regina answers with a grin.

“She’s got a healthy appetite Ruby says.

“You always say that,” Regina tells her and she shrugs.

“She does,” the woman defends and Regina is now the one shrugging. “So,” she says to put a break in that conversation, “ Why is she still in jammies?” she asks the brunette in a quiet tone.

“I took her to see mother after she fell asleep,” Regina answers just as quiet. “After yesterday, she’d thrown another tantrum about wanting to see her, but.. I just couldn’t let her see her in  _ that _ state,”

“I get it, but you know she’ll be just as upset that you did that over the fact that you took her at all,”

“I know,” Regina agrees with a sigh. “ I’m trying so hard to protect her from being hurt, that she ends up getting hurt anyway,”

“If you didn’t try, I think you’d feel worse because you didn’t at least attempt to give her what she needed,” Ruby reminded her as she placed a hand on Regina’s shoulder. “You are doing the best you can with the tools you’ve got, Gi. Just, keep going and everything will work itself out… but I’ll be back with your food in a bit, okay,”

“Okay,” Regina answers with a nod. She sighs internally as Ruby walks away before her eyes fall on her daughter. She’s still talking to her grandfather, literally about any and everything she can think of. Regina continues to watch in silence, counting down the moments until Noly asks her again why she’s in her jammies. However, by the time the little girl is just about done, the food arrives and is set before them. Immediately her daughter assesses both their meals and she can see the clear distortion of uneasiness in her eyes. She immediately knows that something’s wrong if her mother isn’t eating actual food. She doesn’t have time to ask her mtoher a question in that moment just as they say grace, which is only a line of “For these gifts we are about to receive, we give thanks, Amen.” She picks up the child-sized fork and begins to pick at her waffles. She’d never been one who wished for her mother to cut up her food, which meant that if she ever wanted smaller pieces, she either shoved them into her mouth, or she learned to cut her food herself.

“Momma,” Noellia calls for her after she’s stabbed her waffle and then picked it up, dunked it in syruup and shoved it into her little face. Regina looks up from her cereal bowl and tries to smile at her daughter but her heart rate is moving so fast that the only thing left on her mind is finding the proper way to answer Noly once she asks about her current attire. But it doesn’t come. What’s in place of it is a sentence that Regina never really expected to weigh so heavily on her.

“You okay,” comes out of her daughter’s mouth and it’s struck multiple chords within that moment. She’s not about to deny her an answe, better still, she’s not about to deny her an honest answer.

“Not really, baby girl,” she tells her and Noly finds some form of solace in knowing that her mother was honest with her.

“Sorry you’re sad, momma,” she says to her mother before she drops her fork on her plate and scrambles out of the booth to climb in on the other side and hug her mother. She tries as best she could to get her arms completely around her mother and nearly succeeds. The hug is tight, but it’s comfortable. The hug makes her heart melt and somehow it stitches the loose fibres.

“You just made me feel so much better, baby,” she whispers into her daughter’s hair and kisses it before they release one another and Noly climbs back into her spot. Noly gets a few more bites in just as her mother does the same and for a moment, they’re comfortable, and then the question comes and once again, the fear to answer comes back.

“Mommy.. Why me in jammies?”

The question puts pause in the air as Regina inhales and completely jumps in with her answer.

“We went to see Nona, last night,” she tells her and for a split second it doesn’t register to Noly at all.

“We did?” Her mother nods and the words finally sink in. Regina prepares herself for a tantrum, wailing, something that Noly would usually do, but none of that comes. None of it comes at all. Instead, what’s given to her, is a response that probably shocks the little girl herself. A simple “oh,” comes out in almost a whisper. Regina’s well aware as to why Noly gave the response, now. Her daughter isn’t thinking of the fact that they even went to see her grandmother. She’s more than aware of that at this point, however, her focus is solely on her mother and how she wasn’t okay. That’s why, when the next question comes out, her mother sighs so heavily in relief that it’s obvious. “Is Nona okay, momma?”

“She’s trying to be, baby.” The response is enough that even Noly herself can fathom that her mother is telling her, ‘not bad, but not good either.’ It’s enough for her in that moment because she nods.

“Is Abby gonna come back?”

“I don’t know, baby. He wants to, but I don’t know if he will,”

“He should,” she says and it’s laced with defiance that Regina can admire and respect. “He has to. Nona needs Abby,”

“She does,” Regina agrees.

“Nona needs Sleepy too,” the little girl continues. ‘Sleepy’ is Noly’s nickname for her aunt, Zelena and she had figured it was a perfect fit just because Zelena’s name was just shy of being a comic sound. She’d been called a ‘clever little girl’ by her aunt who had scooped her up and kissed her precious little face so much that Noly had to beg her to stop.

“She does,” her mother agrees and then it’s silent because there’s nothing much else the child wants to say. They continue to eat their meals and finish it just as quietly until Regina tells Noly they have to leave because she has to get her to Belle and then she herself needs to be in the office in a bit. Though it’s the weekend, it was a decision she’d personally made to keep herself busy just because of her mother’s absence, her father’s absence, her sister’s absence and literally her little girl’s questions of why, that she herself could not answer.

 

Noellia clambers up and onto a stool, with her mother’s help obviously, and calls Ruby over to give her the eskimo kisses they’ve been known to do. It was just their special thing and not even her mommma was allowed to recreate that. Godmother and goddaughter both giggle as it’s being performed and then, just for extra love, Ruby kisses her forehead and reminds her

“I’ll see you later to go to the park,”

“And then uncle Graham?” she asks with a hopefulness that even Ruby can admire.

“Oh, but of course. He’s already told Emma he’s taking his best little Rae out for training,” Ruby grinned and Noellia squealed.

“I get to see, Emma!”

“You do,” Ruby nods with a grin and Noly clambers off the chair just to dance her happy little dance. Her mother lets her have her moments with Ruby and waits for her outside. Once the pair are done and Ruby escorts her little Rae to her mother, she hugs Regina tightly and kisses the top of her head as well.

“I still don’t see how people think you’re my wife if you treat me like your daughter- or little sister,” Regina pouted but Ruby nudged her shoulder.

“It’s because we look so dang good together, don’t we Rae-Rae,”

“We. Do,” Noellia states as she dances and her mother can’t help but laugh.

“Alright- alright. Come along, NoNo,” Regina said before extending her hand. Her daughter took it instantly and Regina waved over her shoulder at Ruby before they walked the little distance back to the parked car and Regina watched as Noly buckled herself in, double checking it before she herself climbed in the car, buckled in and began towards the mansion.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Emma would be lying if she said she didn’t enjoy going around the town with Graham and dealing with the vandalism issue, but what made her just about pee was when her phone rang and the number was not recognizable. With hesitance she had answered it and sighed deeply when Granny made her voice known. She had told the blonde that the other girl hadn’t shown up, which in turn meant that Emma was now needed. Emma agreed and told the woman she’d ask Graham to bring her back, but Granny asked her what exactly she was doing and she explained. The line was silent for a moment until Granny told her not to come in. She told her to bring the ledger, but to also go back out with Graham. She’d figured the blonde could use the first hand experience on this sort of field. Emma questioned Granny on who it was she was going to get to replace the vacant shift and the woman told her she’d figure something out with some of the others who worked there. Of course the blonde felt bad, but Granny waved it off and told her that eventually she would not be working there anymore, anyway. She had to start training somehow, and that was the best opportunity as it relates to firsts. Emma was grateful for the woman’s willingness to let her expand her experience in every aspect, which is why she told Graham that when he intends to go to the range, pick her up then, that way she’d be able to give Granny nearly half of that shift. He’d smiled at her and reminded her that she was just like her father, constantly putting Granny first in some form or another. Always so willing to please everyone and make sure their burdens were alleviated.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Once Regina and Noly had arrived home, she’d made quick work of getting herself and her daughter dressed and back out the door. Regina dropped her off at the library to hang out with Belle. She’d peppered her face with kisses and reminded her to behave for Ruby which of course the little girl was going to do. Even though she smiled so much with her little girl that morning, it faded by the time she was in the car and on her way to Town Hall.

 

Regina’s time in Town Hall consisted of a brief hello to all the other women and the few men who inhabited the general offices and hallways of the building. It was obvious from the first day on the job that Mr. White looked for a particular kind of female to work beneath him. Brunettes with baby faces and either a few kids or none at all. They would have all either been fresh out of high school and onward to college or recent college graduates in need of a quick job. Regina, sadly, was amongst that group of girls, however, the only difference is, her mother warned her never to go back. She protected her fragileness in every way she could possibly manage by helping and showing her daughter avoid the man at all costs after he’d taken a specific liking in her. Regina had no clue why and neither did her family, but where he continuously asked to marry the young woman, he was just as quickly turned down or wholeheartedly avoided on the matter. 

 

She’d put a finger to her lips to indicate to the others, not to let him know she was in and they all nodded and smiled because they would usually cover for one another, anyway. Her mother’s office was solace and a hiding place for most, if not, all the people there- especially when the man was in one of his moods and ended up yelling more often than not. Sometimes it irritated her to know that because they needed jobs, they were all willing to put up with his indirect harassment or inappropriate questions that he asked in such a manner that if it weren’t deciphered, no one would think anything of it. But, she wouldn’t say it was all bad, there were moments and times where the man behaved and was respectful and not yelling, but those were rare and few between. Still, she took some form of happiness from those four walls and could only wonder how her mother managed to survive for so long.

 

Regina locked herself in her mother’s office and lowered the lights before she put her cell phone on silent and began to work. She’d been doing that consistently so that the man was not aware that she was even in the office, and so far, it worked like a charm. She’d managed to get through almost three heavily congested files until there was a quiet knock to the door, a knock in which she identified as a warning knock. She swallowed. Directly after that knock came another that belonged to the man himself and as if that wasn’t enough of a giveaway, the shadow in the frosted glass was. She swallowed again, this time much more thickly and shut her eyes. Her breathing shallowed as she heard the handle jiggle and then keys entering the lock. It clicked and it turned and right before her stood Mr. White himself, smiling at her like he was about to devour her.

 

Regina’s eyes lazily opened and focused, a silent prayer that this man would just do what needs to be done and leave. But for some reason, she wasn’t so sure she’d escape unscathed.

  
  



	4. Training Day pt. 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This has angst. Implied rape mentions.  
> The experience Regina goes through is very close to home considering it happened in my home. Two particular parts are from personal experience and the aftershock of it that I dealt with.

_ “Ahh, Miss Mills, lovely to see you’re in,” Leopold greeted with a smile that left Regina’s nerves very frazzled. She gulped, opened her brown eyes and nodded with her own tight smile, hoping to never give her fear away. _

_ “Good day, Mr. White, can I help you with something,” she queried as she tried adopting her mother’s habits in the way she’s seen her deal with the man. She tries to look away from his eyes and focus on the file before her, still being highly aware of her surroundings. He laughs and shakes his head. _

_ “No, not necessarily. I’d figured I’d sensed your presence and it seems I was right,” he tells her as he makes his way further and further into the room. Regina shifts in her seat uncomfortably and bites the inside of her cheek.  _ **_At least he left the door open this time. Maybe he didn’t come to harass me-_ ** _ she’d thought to herself, but her thoughts came to quick and hope came to soon as he spun around and actually closed the door before locking it. “Now, as to not be disturbed by any unwanted visitors-”  _ **_The only unwanted visitor here, is you._ ** _ “-let’s have a conversation, yes?” _

_ “Of course, Mr. White. What is you’d like to speak about?” Regina queries, picking up a pen and aimlessly scribbling over some sheets. She needed to keep her hands from shaking before him or else he’d never leave her alone. _

_ “You,” he said simply and Regina’s hands slide from atop the desk so that they rest on her lap. She pulls the fabric of her skirt down and clenches her legs shut. She sits up straight and tilts her head. She hopes to the high heavens she’s doing Cora’s attitude justice. _

_ “A-and, what about me is it that we need to discuss?” she fumbles but quickly recovers. _

_ “Many- many things my dear girl.”  _ **_I’m not your girl!._ ** _ “ We need to discuss that beautiful smile of yours. Your work ethic that mimics your mother’s… that oh so delicate, angel carved shape,” he says as he tilts his head and in that moment, all of Regina’s flesh boils and shivers. The man walks closer to the desk and leans over, hands resting atop the current files Regina had been working on. His eyes flash in a predatory manner and a smile that’s disgustingly needy, appears across his face. He pushes himself up and off the table before dragging a finger across the wood as he spoke to her. “How about we discuss this over lunch-,” he offers at first “-and then a nice candlelit dinner at Nico’s.. Or Fernando’s if you prefer... and top it off with a simple nightcap,” he says directly and she jerks up and out of her seat. He watches her, that slimy grin is still plastered across his face as he observes her. As much as Regina wishes she could just tell him to leave her alone, she knows he’ll either laugh and be even more relentless, or completely miss her annoyance. Instead, she makes her way around the table and tries to walk toward the door as quickly as she can manage but he’s just as fast and slams a hand right on the knob the second she reaches out to grab it. _

_ “Not so fast, sweet girl. I thought we were speaking,” he cooed, sickly and Regina adjusted her shoulders before she broadened them and spoke. _

_ “No. You were speaking, I was leaving,” she says shortly and makes a move to exit once more but he pushes himself at her side and blocks the doorway. _

_ “Come now. Let’s not be rash,” Leopold tells her before he backs her away from the door and she stares at him with defiance, something she wasn’t known for having too much of. _

_ “I’m not being rash. I’m uncomfortable and you aren’t making this any better for me, Mr. White,” she spits and she’d expected him to flare, but he doesn’t. In fact, the man doesn’t even seem fazed by it. _

_ “I simply would like to have lunch with a very good employee, take her for dinner-,” _

_ “-And use her for casual sex to fit some Lolita complex you have,” Regina bit out and if he didn’t laugh a bit manically at that, she’d no fucking clue what the hell it is he did. _

_ “A man needs his fun, right?” _

_ “What he needs is control and the simple human understanding of the word NO!” she finally shouts at him and that gathered attention outside of the office. Of course, if any of the women were actually brave enough to interrupt, they would, but then that would lead him to act in a sarcastic manner, or simply change the course of his prey. Instead, one of the women picked up the phone and rang out. _

 

_ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ _

 

_ “Hello?” came the questioned greeting.  _

_ “We have a situation up this way and you need to get here, like now,” the voice said in a more than concerned and panicked tone. _

_ “Is it what I think it is?” _

_ “Yes, so please hurry. I can’t… you know-,” _

_ “-Yeah, I know. I’ll be there as soon as I can. Just clear out the area, but keep watch,” _

_ “Okay,” _

_ “Good. I’ll let you know when I’m there.” _

_ They hung up. _

_ “That sounds bad,” came a comment that made the man take pause. _

_ “It is.. I have to pick up someone else before I head in. You’re gonna have to take a rain check on getting to the diner right now,” _

_ “That’s fine… Where are we going?” Emma asked and Graham sighed before he looked over at her. _

 

_ “City hall,” he said and she froze. “I know,” is all he tells her based on the look she gives him. Emma didn’t need to be told anything specific to know that there was a likely hood they were going there to deal with her grandfather and a possible assault. Emma nodded dumbly and Graham continued to drive. _

 

_ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ _

_ “Do calm down, Regina. I simply want to have a bit of fun,” the man said to her as he leaned in even closer. He’d managed to back her into the desk she tried so hard to steer clear of. “Let’s not be rash now. It was merely an offer to engage in a few pleasurable activities. One I would hope you don’t turn down,” _

_ “Fun does not include you sexually harassing me,  _ **_Mister White_ ** _ ,” she spat and he rolled his eyes. _

_ “Clearly your brain is about as frazzled as an average teenager’s,” he insults and she fumbles at his words before she notices him scoffing and telling her “ And who do you honestly think will believe you over me?” That just annoys the absolute shit out of her at that point. _

_ “I could think of a few people who would take pride in tossing you into a cell-,” she manages to get out before a hand is around her throat and he’s pressing her even deeper into the desk.  _

_ “Can you still think now, sweetheart,” he whispers sadistically into her ear and there’s a vein protruding from his neck that gives away his frustration. She’s fully down on her back with him hovering over her, his leg invading the space between her thighs. When she doesn’t answer, but rather, begins to turn a bit purple in the face, he squeezes harder. Regina wheezes and gasps harshly right on cue, but doesn’t let her fear bubble over because she refuses to lose her strength. She refuses to let him win. To give in. So, instead of giving in- Regina fights back. All done a bit weakly, but she fights back nonetheless. She knees him and the grunt he lets out, gives her enough momentum to shove him away and run straight for the door. She neglects her personal items because -who in the hell would care to pick things like that up in a moment like this! _

_ Regina jiggles the door handle and it’s locked as she’s forgotten, however, the second she manages to get it unlocked, he yanks her back by a fistful of her long hair and all but drags the young woman. Somehow the door comes undone and creaks open, the sounds are drifting out and into the employee cubicles with a wispiness, but the sound rises as the action does. From the force and pain he inflicted, she’s gripping at her hair in order to prevent him from ripping it straight from her scalp. It does nothing to soothe her pain, but it’s keeping her from full out quitting and giving in to the abuse that’s so familiar to her. It’s not surprise to him that she doesn’t scream, it just frustrates him even more that he just can’t seem to break this girl. He almost succeeded in breaking her heel, however. _

 

_ It’s clearly obvious he’s done this to her before.... Or that someone’s done this to her before. He’s touched her before at some point or another, harsher with each meeting. It starts out with him being very cordial in one sentence and completely inappropriate in another. Leopold, in Regina’s head, is known for his immense need to invade her bubble, to leave her feeling scarred like she has been countless times before. He’s the one with the mask on his face in her nightmares. He’s the one- so recently placed in her life who mimics all of her demons, but magnifies their detriment by the thousands. Leopold is the one who was currently dragging her through the office like a rag doll, nearly ready to spit in her face and beat her to death if he got that angry. It’s something she tells no one. It’s something she keeps a secret because, in her eyes, she seems weak if she admits she’s been taken advantage of. It never surprises her that a man with both feet already in the grave could find so much anger within himself to harm another. This had to be the worst he’s ever been where she was concerned. He’d never gone this far in his rage and at this point, she realized that from she was sixteen up to now, the man was pining after her. It was just that at this point in time, she was so alone- even though she was in an office full of people, that she couldn’t think clearly enough. She felt delirious and disoriented within the short space of time. She may have been losing touch with reality, or herself.. Or quite possibly just the air in the room. He throws her against the desk and when her back makes contact with the wood, she hears a crack in her spine and clatters to the floor. He bends down quickly and wraps his meaty fist around her neck once more before he pushes her head up and smiles. _

_ “Leaving so soon,” he coos grossly and her face fixes in defiance. “ I thou-ght,” he fights with her as she jerks her face away from him. He grabs it once more, slamming her head against the wood. “As I was saying. I’d assumed we were just getting started with the festivities and fun… Now! You were about to accept my proposal, right?” He questions her and her face is stoically determined. Since she didn’t answer him, he sighs out a laugh. “ Very well then,” he says to her before he pulls her up and grabs a hold of her things. “Since you decided to fall mute, we’ll take this some place where I’m more than positive your voice will be heard,” he tells her and by the implication of those words, Regina’s heart drops so quickly inside her chest that she’s crying. She knows what he means by those words. Dear God she knows and she hates it. She hates what she knows will become of her when he manages to get an actual hold of her. He releases her for just a second. “Now, don’t move, darling. We need to fix you up,” he says to her and makes a move to do so. She doesn’t move. She tries not to react and flinch, but when she does, he takes joy in it and he smiles, but brushes at the spot with a gentleness that leaves her unnerved beyond belief. _

 

_ Once the man is done primming her like some doll, he picks up her things and jiggles his pocket to check for his keys. They’re there- and she honestly wished they weren’t. Just her fucking luck. “Come now, let’s leave,” he commands her before he places a hand at her back and pats at her coccyx harshly. She winces and a groan escapes her. The pain is searing and her walking is just going to make it worse. Once they reach the doors, he pulls it open and plasters a fake smile on his face. She doesn’t. She’s not giving him that satisfaction. “Everyone!” he calls for their attention, but he wasn’t aware he already had it. He always had it because everyone was either fearful of the man or trying to look out for one another. “Miss Mills and I will be leaving for an early lunch today,” he tells them and some people look confused, other’s know by Regina’s face that something’s off, but the one girl who called out is quite frankly just panicking. She doesn’t know if to pick up the main line and dial Graham’s number or if she should try to slip out and call him on her cell phone. She looks up at Regina’s helpless face. She can see that Regina’s completely dazed by this point, or at least, she’s trying to appear that way, but when they make eye contact… she sees it. She sees the silent cry for help. She sees Regina’s eyes flash at the phone, but the girl mouths the words,” help is coming,” in hopes that Regina would stay strong for just a little while longer, however, they both doubt Regina’s strength will last past those doors. She’s not visibly scarred or bruised and that was something Regina had noted he seemed to be very adamant about.Not scratching his new toys.“If there is need for me, do wait until I’ve returned. The town shouldn’t go to hell in a handful of hours and neither should this office. Did I make myself clear?” He receives nods and that’s good enough for him, not that he cared about them at that point. He makes motion that they get back to work and then he’s pushing Regina in the other direction for them to leave. Just before they exit, his eyes fall on one employee in particular. “ Rachel,” he calls the young woman. It’s the one who had told Regina that help was coming. She shook a bit before she looked up. _

_ “S-sir?” she answers and his eyes narrow. She’s been in possession of the phone receiver for a minute there and his next question comes with a quick answer. _

_ “Who’s that on the line?” _

_ “Oh! It’s just my mother, sir,” she lies easily and Regina breathes in relief for her. Her eyes flit over to Regina. A quiet message is what is transferred between the two just before she looks back at her boss.  _

_ “I see,” he says skeptically. “May I?” he questions as he reaches for the phone with a smile. She nods dumbly and hopes like hell, Graham, can think of something quickly. Rachel hands the phone over and Leopold puts it to his ear. “Hello,” he says with a cordial tone and that takes his attention just as Regina allows herself that distance from him. She inches away so that she can hopefully breathe air that wasn’t filled with his disgusting cologne. Leopold is off in conversation and he’s smiling and laughing and Regina and Rachel are surprised…. Finally when he’s done he hands the phone back to her. “Always a pleasure talking to the mothers of my most valued employees,” he says and that lets her know, he bought it. Without a doubt, he bought whatever the hell Graham just did. She manages a smile that looks genuine, but lacks it all. Leopold had stupidly told Rachel’s ‘mother’ where he was having lunch with Regina, and somehow, dear old ‘mother’ knew he was lying. _

 

_ They leave, and once they’re outside, he walks Regina around the car and holds out a hand so that she gets in and when she doesn’t, he tells her with enunciation. _

_ “Get. In.” She doesn’t. She denies him that immediate reaction and response and that just aggravates him more, but she’s not defiant for nothing. She’s not weak and she damn sure isn’t going to let him dictate her life. He has no patience when he reacts. He neglects the fact that he’s in public and that someone may see him do what he’s about to, but the man doesn’t care.His arm hooks before it’s levelling itself into Regina’s stomach. It’s a hefty blow that makes her legs buckle and her knees knock at one another.Because she drops, it appears as though she’s getting into the car, so he makes it look as though he’s helping her in. Regina’s wheezing silently as he buckles her in and nothing in that moment could give her any more hope than to survive. Fighting doesn’t even seem plausible at that point. Her only thing left, is hope that they’ll find her. _

 

_ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ _

 

_ “Shit!” Graham hisses and the other inhabitants of the squad car are concerned. He’s speeding through the town and hauling ass towards City Hall, hoping to catch Leopold before he’s off with Regina. He radios in for backup that he doesn’t even have and hopes like hell, someone would help them. _

_ “What?! What is it?” _

_ “He’s not taking her for lunch,” he tells them and Emma immediately knows that her doubt was correct. She’d had to pretend to be Rachel’s mother and they held the phone on speaker. It was ingenious and just dumb luck that Emma happened to be in the car. _

_ “Then where in the hell is he taking her?” she asks him very panicked and very angry at this point. She has no idea why she’s so immediately disgusted and infuriated by the situation. She guesses it’s because it feels like it always happens, at least, that’s what she guesses. She’s not sure. She’s honestly hoping it’s not. _

_ “I don’t know, but it can’t be far,” he tells her and that’s simply not enough for her. _

_ “Listen, Graham, I know that you’re trying, but this isn’t enough… This isn’t going to work, this.. You need to find her.” _

_ “I know, Emma!” he sighs angrily. “I know..” he says much softer. If only she knew his panic. If only she knew his anger level. If only she knew where his lack of hope lied where Regina was concerned, to find her in time. _

_ “Can’t you track her or something?” she questions him as he’s speeding through the city and he shakes his head. _

_ “I can’t,” he tells her in a defeated tone, but Emma isn’t giving up. _

_ “You can’t,” she tells him and he seems to agree with her words. “You can’t-,” she repeats. “-but I can!” she tells him quickly and he’s confused. “I need a computer,” Emma tells him and he doesn’t even care what it is she does at this point, so long as it helps. He nods and continues to speed through the town, making his way to City Hall and of course they miss them, but Emma’s only concern is a computer and a good working one at that. They practically dart from the car and into City Hall. _

_ “Rachel, get her to a computer. Fast!” he says as he points to Emma and Rachel nods before she’s ushering Emma towards her desk. Graham runs to Cora’s office and he can quite clearly see from the scuffs in the tiles and clattered desk, there was a struggle. The other inhabitant walks in and he’s quick to say- _

_ “-Stop!” _

_ “I need to see it,” the say to him but he shakes his head. _

_ “No.. you.. we need to let someone else handle this. Right now, our concern is finding Regina,” he tells them and with a heavy sigh the person nods. Graham then pulls out his phone and dials out. His wife answers. _

_ “Hi, honey-,” she manages to get out before he’s cutting her off. _

_ “-Where’s Noly?” Ruby’s confused and it’s evident when she answers. _

_ “She’s- with Bell.. why?” _

_ “Nothing- just.. Care you going for her now?” _

_ “Yeah- wait.. Graham, what’s wrong. Did something happen?” She’s putting her jacket on, passing the phone to her other hand as she does this. _

_ “Ruby-” _

_ “-Graham! What happened? Is it Regina?” Ruby queries in panic and he sighs. _

_ “Yes bu-,” _

_ “-What. Happened?” _

_ “Ruby-,” _

_ “-For fucks sake, just tell me!” she screeches at him and he swallows. Ruby stops walking and waits on his response. _

_ “White’s got her and we’re trying to find her,” _

_ “Who’s we?” _

_ “Me and Emma. She says she can track Regina’s phone. Rachel called it in,” he says to his wife and his words are watery. He’s a grown ass man that’s about to cry on the spot and he doesn’t give a flying fuck. _

_ “Yo-you’ll find her.. Right?” Ruby asks him but she honestly isn’t sure she wants the answer to that. He gives her that breath by not answering, but it’s just as bad as if he were to answer her. Graham sniffles and Ruby’s face falls. _

_ “Could you just.. get Noly and stay inside. I know you were supposed to take her out today, but… I don’t want that if he actually is out with her for her to see anything she shouldn’t have to,” _

_ “Yeah, sure,” Ruby agrees quickly. They hang up without having to say goodbye because neither was with it anymore. Ruby got on her bike and began to peddle down the strip and towards the library. _

 

_ When she gets there, Noly tears down and runs towards her. The little glittered smile of her goddaughter is enough to get her heart to feel normal, if only for a second. She jumps and Ruby’s not short on catching her. _

_ “Goddy Ruby!” she says happily. _

_ “Hey, little Rae,” Ruby says as best she can with her best smile. Noly sees past it. _

_ “What’s wrong, goddy Ruby?” _

_ “Nothing little Rae,” she sniffles and the little girl pouts. _

_ “But.. you sad,” _

_ “I’m not sad, baby. Just extra happy to see you,” Ruby tells her and Noly perks up. _

_ “Really?” _

_ “Really,” Ruby smiles at her and Noly grins before she hugs her. Ruby hugs her back before she’s setting her down and sending her off to go get her things. She knows she’s just lied to her goddaughter, but she can’t tell her something as bad as that. She can’t watch Noly lose her innocence. So.. she lies to her. She’s not proud of having to do it, but it’s better that way. Belle comes over and she knows for a fact that something is in fact wrong. _

_ “What’s the matter?” is all she asks and she knows Ruby will answer, because Ruby always answers. _

_ “White’s got Regina and he and Emma are trying to trace her phone to find them,” she says and Belle swallows. _

_ “Maybe.. They went for lunch?” Belle said trying to sound optimistic but Ruby laughed out a scoff. Belle was always one who held hope that Leopold White wasn’t the man most claimed him to be. _

_ “Rachel called it in,” Ruby told her and by the mention of that name, Belle knew it wasn’t some simple thing. “And I doubt my husband breaking down and crying over it just means lunch,” Ruby tells her. Belle just nods. Belle says nothing because saying anything that falls borderline predictable is something she doesn’t delve into. Noone in their group really does that predictable phrase thing.  She doesn’t even say ‘Don’t worry, they’ll find her’ because it’s all predictable hope that makes Ruby think even worse has possibly happened or that Regina’s on the verge of death.It’s that one phrase that will make her worry and she doesn’t want to worry. _

_ When Noly comes back over, Ruby holds out a hand for her that she takes and they say bye to Belle. Ruby straps Noly in on the spare seat she placed directly atop the handlebars and made sure they both had on protective gear before she peddled through the street. _

_ “Little Rae?” _

_ “Yes, goddy?” _

_ “I know you wanted to go to the park today, but what do you say I take you back to Granny’s and we can help the old birdy cook? Sound fun?” _

_ “Can I has an apron too?” _

_ “Of course you can,” _

_ “Then I say.. Let’s go!” Noly cheered and Ruby breathed in relief. That was easier than she expected. _

 

_ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ _

 

_ Graham was pacing. He was pacing like a worried father would if his daughter were out past curfew. Everything terrible thought crossed his mind as his hand went from his chin to the back of his head and over his eyes. Emma glanced over at him, glasses he wasn’t even aware she was in possession of, sat perched on her nose. _

_ “Could you stop pacing around so much, you’ll wear those shoes out,” she scolds him but he continues and she sighs. Emma turns back to her computer and continues to key away until something akin to a ding sets off her emotions. She claps loudly and Graham along with all the other people in office look over. _

_ “I FOUND HER!” she announces loudly and Graham rushes to the computer. There’s an animated version of blinking cell towers with codes and registered numbers along with running C prompt text. “Her phone hasn’t moved from that spot in over ten minutes. Do you know where that is?” _

_ “That’s her house,” Graham says without thought. “That’s.. Her parents’ house,” he corrects and shakes his head. “We need to go- Everyone- go home!” he announces to the people who don’t need to be told twice. “Rachel, can you make sure that when the crew gets here they leave those files with you, please,” Graham asks the woman who nods quickly before she’s patting his arm and basically telling him to go. He nods and picks up his vest before he’s slinging his arms through it. _

_ “I’m coming too,” Emma announces and Graham doesn’t stop her. He just nods at her and they go. _

 

_ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ _

 

_ “Turn around, sweetheart. I’d like to admire what beautiful curves you’ve been given,” Leopold sings to Regina as he sits on her parents’ bed and watches her. She’s standing far off, awkwardly trying to cover herself and her back is to the man because of what he’s forced her into. She hates lingerie. She hates it beyond all measure, and now, she hates it even more because he’d forced her into it. A satin pair that barely covered much of the petite brunette. She hears the bed dip and feet shuffle before he’s putting hands on her shoulders and turning her around. He sees the tears in her eyes but feels no form of sorry for her. He holds her chin up and tells her. _

_ “Stop crying. I’m going to have you whether you want me to or not.” She doesn’t stop crying and he doesn’t care to make her stop. He instead, takes advantage of the moment and guides her towards the bed. She’s so out of it, she doesn’t realize her body complies. He makes her lie down and in some odd way, Regina becomes aware in that exact moment. The moment where this man who could have a heart attack at any second of the day is undressing before her just to sleep with her. She shuts her eyes as she listens to him shed layer of fabric after layer of fabric. It does nothing but make her even more afraid of the inevitable. “Open your eyes. I want to see your reactions when I have my way with you,” is the next sentence out of his mouth and she doesn’t comply, she’s becoming steely again and he hates that because he has no patience. His hand wraps around her throat and her eyes blast wide open and all she feels in that moment, is pain. She’s not even afraid anymore. All Regina feels is a rush of adrenaline that pushes her over the edge. Something snaps in her mind and she manages to get both hands on his arm and wrench it away. He doesn’t quit easily if the slap levelled across her face was anything to go by. He’s practically naked, his unwanted member clearly ready to do it’s business and she’s beyond disgusted. He does some weird thing where he fiddles with his boxers and aims to wrench her legs that she has so tightly shut, open. They fight back and forth with that as he tries to pry them open and she fights to keep them shut. Regina swings at the man who seems more than relentless but it goes in vain as he finally gets her legs open, just shy of the moment something else in her mind snaps and her leg flinches angrily, kicking him square in the face. He stumbles back and she’s quickly up and out of the room, grabbing something as she goes along. She runs into her own room and is surprised when he’s hot on her ass. He gets right up in her face and slaps her, but she pushes at him, forcing him away. He grabs her arm and she tries hard to pull away but her throws her on the floor and she’s scooting back, quickly. Because her bed is high up off the ground, Regina crawls under it and Leopold reaches after her. She makes the wrong move and he yanks her leg before he’s dragging her back out. He’s got a grip in both her arms and actually punches her twice before she punches back and manages to get away again. She slams her door and hauls ass down the stairs. There’s no keys to get out the damn house when she reaches the doors and she starts to cry through her panic. She feels a grip at the back of her head before she’s being swung and tossed against the tiling of the living room. He sits on top of her and his hands, both this time, wrap around her neck as he spits out the words. _

_ “I will- kill you!” and it takes everything in her not to blackout. It takes everything in her to get his hands off her neck. It takes everything in her to not feel the way he’s shaking her and slamming her head against the tiling.  _

 

_ It takes all of Regina’s control, not to give up. _

_ Sadly, she thinks she’s lost that battle. She blacks out and when she blacks out, she’s pretty much out for only heaven knows how long. She heard something loud go off, just before she faded and that was it. It was as if her body gave up its ghost. _

 

_ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ _

 

“Uncle Graham!” Noly squeaks when Graham walks through the kitchen of Granny’s.

“Hey sweetie. Ready to go practice, Monkey?”

“Ready! Is Emma coming?” she asks and Graham pauses for a moment.

“Not today, monkey. Maybe tomorrow though. She’s gonna be your new partner for training,” he manages to smile at her and Noly grins.

“Cool!” she comments and he smiles a bit better this time.

“I know.. So, how did you do in this big ole kitchen,”

“She did just fine,” Granny commented as she came over and handed Noly a cookie.

“She’d outcook you if you tried to go against her, isn’t that right my little dumpling,” Granny cooed and Noly nodded with pride.

“I’m sure she can. She’s already pretty good on the gun. I don’t think there’s anything she can’t do,” Graham praises and she blushes before burying her face in his neck. Graham then places her down and tells her to go get her backpack from Ruby so they can go and she nods. Once Noly is out of the kitchen, Granny speaks.

“Ruby already told me… how is she?”

“She’s… out,” is all he can say because after the debacle, they’d taken Regina straight to the hospital and the doctors pretty much cut them off from that point. Whale had called Graham to let him know that Regina’s coccyx was nearly broken and that she sustained a few bruises as well as a bit of skull damage, but it wasn’t too bad. Graham had flared and nearly ripped his nuts off through the phone by asking him how he would know anything about Regina’s pain not being too bad.Whale shut up after that and Graham hung up.

“Where is he?”

“In a cell..bleeding,” the man says and Granny nods. She’s not phased. 

“You shot him?”

“No… Emma did.” Her eyebrows rise.

“She did?!”

“Yeah, in the shoulder. Should have been the head,” he mutters and Granny can’t say anything to that. She instead hands Graham a bag and he knows it’s food. It’s heavy and smells like home. Probably because it was stews and soups.

“Your goddaughter made that for you and Ruby. She wants you both to taste it and be happy,”

“Doubt the happy part, but I’ll eat it,” he tells her and his tone is terribly dry.

“Try to,” Granny tells him and he nods before he exits the kitchen. He finds Ruby and he kisses her and it’s not as if she didn’t already know the news, she’s just… glad he’s safe. He gets a call and then relates the info to her.

“Forensics is still going to process the Hall. So it’s shut down for a while. He’s in a cell with a bullet in his shoulder and no pride,” Graham says to his wife and she’s not happy about any of the situation but she’s relieved by that bit of information.

“Noly has to stay with us for a bit,” Ruby tells him and he nods quickly.

“I’ll tell her,” Graham says and Ruby lets him. 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

She’s somewhere on the docks and the wind is blowing. Her mind is still reeling from what she saw and what she did.

 

POW!

 

It goes off in her head again. The stunned flint from the gun and the bullet firmly lodging itself into the back of the man’s shoulder. She had no clue why she did that, why she felt need to do it-the urge to just shoot him to make him stop. She couldn’t unsee the near lifeless body. She couldn’t unsee the pain and the tears. She couldn’t unsee the innocence that just slipped away so quickly. Emma wasn’t so sure that was a bit.. She felt like it was the last of the woman’s innocence she watched be taken from her.  She reacted and in all honesty, she had a feeling that had the gun not been there, she’d have attacked him head on. Graham just happened to be there with his gun holstered to him and Emma just happened to react quickly at his words where he threatened to kill the brunette woman. So...she shot him and she only aimed for the shoulder because she didn’t want to kill him, just yet. He’d fallen over and slumped and Graham cuffed him, but it was Cora who seemed to finally react in a human aspect. She’d made quick work of making her way to her daughter and dropping to her knees. She’d checked her over, but her panic had not manifested. From the moment Graham picked her up, the woman had been running on autopilot. She’d been running on the sheer determination but oddly placed patience, to find her daughter. And it worked, which was why once she’d finally concluded Regina still had a pulse, Cora walked over to where he was complaining to Graham about the bullet in his shoulder and his cuffs,and slapped the ever living hell out of him. One slap isn’t satisfying enough- so she gives him another and another and another until her hand is caught and she gets the hint. It’s Emma’s hand on hers that makes her pause and Emma guides her away, already on the phone with the hospital and emergency room. Cora says nothing after the blonde lets her go and she’s back at Regina’s side, lifting her daughter’s head into her lap and praying to whatever God and deity exists that Regina makes it through. Emma had asked Cora where she should go to get Regina some clothes and Cora tries to get the words out but she can’t. So Graham tells her a few simple instructions and they word. It’s odd that she’s still yet to see her grandfather’s face and he’s yet to see hers, but her only concern was to get clothes and get out the house. She’d made her way up the stairs and and something just felt way off. Emma walked into the room and saw that there were clothes that were strewn across the floor. The room itself was beyond clean, so something wasn’t sitting right in her mind. It must’ve been the last place they were before downstairs- is what she concludes before she swallows and picks up the discarded items. She folds them down and heads into the closet, looking for the most baggy and comfortable clothing, pjs and underwear she could manage. She feels bad that she has to go through the woman’s drawer, but she does it anyway because she needs to. Emma finds a duffel and puts them into it before she looks for a bathroom and finds that it’s across the hall. She takes a very smart guess based on the kid sized toothbrush and the normal sized one that she needs to get the normal sized one and thens he gets the toothpaste and packs it. Emma thinks she’s gotten everything when the room that she’d passed earlier catches her eye the second time around. The door is cracked and she doesn’t hesitate when she enters. She can instantly tell by the terribly ruffled sheeting and the man’s discarded clothing as well as Regina’s that this precise room is where it really started. She doesn’t get too far on her route to shout for Graham because he’s already up and in the room. She turns around and her face is enough explanation.

“We need to go, I’ll call the crew to come and deal with it,” Graham tells her and she nods dumbly before he ushers her out and downstairs. The gurney is being wheeled out and Cora is also walking out within that moment. Graham and Emma follow along and all they can do is shut the door and lock the house up.

 

He’d asked her if she wanted to head into Granny’s, go to the hospital or to the station, but she ultimately decided to go for a walk and a walk is what she took until she ended up at the docks. Graham had agreed and told her he was taking the old man to a prison cell. She’d nodded and Graham told her they’d need her testimony soon. She nodded once more and that was that.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Two more calls on behalf of a not so unexpected person were made. Both were long distance. Both were painful to recap, and both came with a boiling anger behind their intent.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Since Graham had managed to convince his goddaughter she’d be staying with them for a few days, he’d taken her out to the park for a bit and then to the shooting range before they went back for Ruby and then he went to the house to get Noly a few clothes. Ruby had told him not to, instead she suggested he go to Regina’s place and pick them up from there because she had a spare key. It was that and Ruby already knew if Graham went back in that house he’d break down. He agreed and they did so.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Cora refused to leave Regina’s side, and as she watched the wheezed breathing of her daughter come and go, she fought herself to keep the tears in.

“No I see why you never want to leave me,” Cora whispers a cry to her child as she tries to smile but it’s teary and painful. “I understand what it is you feel now, Regina and I... “ she stops herself before she’s up and bending over her daughter to kiss the bruise that was getting darker as it formed on her forehead.

 

There was a knock at the door and a head poked in. Cora looked up and over and saw that it was Emma. She glanced at the clock and it was nearing eleven.

“Sorry, am I interrupting,” Emma questioned, ready to apologise, but Cora shook her head. She took a good look at the way the blonde stood there in the doorway, awkwardly. Her head was inclined, lips parted and question on her lips.

“Would you like to sit?”

“Only if it’s okay with you.. I just.. Kind of wanted to see how she’s doing,” the blonde admitted as she rubbed the back of her head. Cora looks back at Regina and sighs.

“She hasn’t woken up yet, but she’s fine otherwise.. Or so I’ve been told by Whale,”

“I take it he was her doctor?”

“Yes, he was.. or is.” Silence sat amongst them as Cora brushed curls from Regina’s face and Emma made her way over on the other side. She sat and just watched before Cora spoke. “You’re the new face of the town,” she tells the blonde and Emma nods.

“News travels that fast, huh,” Emma comments and Cora nods. “You shot your grandfather,” she says and Emma nods.

“I did.”

“Why?”

“Because he was going to hurt your daughter,” Emma says simply.

“But you don’t know her,”

“I don’t know him either,” Emma tells her and Cora pauses.

“Still,” she begins but Emma shakes her head and she stops.

“There’s no still. He tried to rape her, that’s enough for me to shoot him again and again if I had the option. He wasn’t my grandfather before and he damn sure isn’t now.” 

 

There’s silence again because that’s a thing with them right in that room. Emma stares at Regina’s face and for some reason she feels like she knows her, like she knows this woman but she just can’t figure out how that is.

“Thank you.. Emma,” Cora says and Emma looks up.

“You’re welcome,” she tells Cora and the woman smiles a little bit before she rises from her seat..

“Would you mind..” she trailed off and Emma nods. “Thank you, I’ll be just a ways out. The cafeteria should have something and I must call to update,”

“I understand.” Cora nods and leaves. Emma sighs as she looks at the brunette once more. She takes in all of Regina’s bruisings and winces at them. Her forehead, her eyes, her chest, and as Emma remembers, her coccyx. She can’t help herself, and when her hand makes its way onto the bed, Emma holds onto the limp hand. She rubs a thumb across the hand and feels how clammy it is. Her face pinches into a sad smile where she’s almost positive she might cry for the woman. Emma says nothing, she just keeps stroking her thumb across Regina’s clammy hand and just when she thinks she’s held on too long, a finger flinches in her hold and she wills herself to hold on for just a bit longer.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

When Cora finally comes back she finds that Emma is knocked out on a part of the hospital bed and she doesn’t miss the way the blonde is holding onto Regina’s hand. She doesn’t move her, doesn’t wake her or shake her. She leaves Emma be because in some weird way, Cora feels Emma needs it more than Regina does.She needs the reality back because of what she’s experienced.

 

She finds herself somewhere to be and then she lies down. There’s nothing else she can do except lie down and when she lies down, exhaustion from the day takes her.

 

It takes all of them, from Graham to Emma to Rachel. From Ruby to Granny to Cora and back around to some of the employees of the day. The worry and exhaustion has kicked the crap out of them and they all succumb to sleep, most are worst off than others

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The sections that applied to me were the pieces where she was hit repeatedly and consistently, nearly raped (I was molested. Not raped) and then almost strangled to death. I did black out much like Regina did. And yes the words "I will kill you!" were said to me.


	5. Awake

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tis late, I know. Don't kill me.

Three very quiet and gruelling days later, there was finally some distinct change that came in the form of reaction. Since both mother and daughter were in the hospital, as well as father and daughter being abroad- the only other person/s for little Noly to stay with were her godparents. Granted, when they first took her in, the couple were concerned as to how they would handle her questions of where and why as it related to her mother, but they both soon realized that Noly was not only relentless just to be. They realized she was relentless because she needed to understand things that most people usually wouldn’t tell her. Those things usually came in the form of her mother-situations that had to do with her young mother at that. Noly had also questioned Graham on Emma’s whereabouts when she was taken to the range for practice and of course Graham had an answer for that. It became, 

_ ‘She’s out helping someone with something really really special so she can’t be here right now but I’m sure in a couple of days she’ll be free to come to practice,’ _ or  _ ‘I’m sorry monkey, but she’s still busy,’  _ and then the favourite, ‘ _ She’s still tied up, but maybe she’ll come by today.’  _

Noly had just taken it with a grain of salt, or in child’s terms, she’d just accepted it with a pout.

_ ‘Okay, but can I still show her how I shoot?’ she’d asked and the man smiled at her. _

_ ‘Of course you can, sweetheart.’ _

So, Graham and Ruby tried their damndest to keep Noly distracted and happy and smiling, however- her questions still came, and when they came, most of the time the little girl was told nothing. It became them actually creating something around her questions. To put it simple- they distracted her on short notice because it’s all they could do when she came to them with question after question. It turned into ‘Look little Rae, little ducks,’ or ‘How about we go to the arcade today and then for a hotdog.’ And yeah- all of that worked and it worked instantly because what four year old didn’t like little duckies and games and state fair foods? But then, it changed and it changed quickly. The third morning came and with it came a difference in Noly’s attitude at a deafening contrast to the days prior.

“Morning monkey,” comes the greeting from Graham. He’s looked away from the stove for just a moment to see his sleepy goddaughter rub at her little eyes and wander into the kitchen. She doesn’t speak and he’s not surprised by that only because Noly has stayed with them multiple times before. Until the little girl is fully awake, she’s usually mute until food is set before her or cartoons have been turned on. Graham scoops the little girl up and sets her atop the counter and brushes his thumb over her eyes. “Sleep good, monkey?” he questions her and she nods a little wobbly. “Good,” he smiles before he turns and gets the little apron that was made for her. He drapes it over her without question and continues to talk. “Wanna help me make the waffles this morning?” Of course she nods at that. Graham had already fried bacon and eggs, but making the waffles seemed to be Noly’s absolute favourite thing, probably because she liked pouring batter and dropping whatever fruit she wanted into it. So as they set about in making breakfast, Noly’s mouth opens and when she speaks, the first thing she asks is,

‘Uncle Graham, where’s my mommy?’

‘She’s at the hospital, monkey. Remember we talked about that yesterday? She’s there with your nana,’

“Is she helping nona cus she sick?’ is her next question but Graham kind of avoids that by putting the batter before her. She’s immediately distracted and then comes another question. ‘Uncle Graham?’

“Yes, sweetie?”

“Why won’t my mommy come to see me?” she questions and Graham sees the way the child’s face is concentrated on the batter but the pain is evident in her face.

“Because she’s been busy at the hospital, baby girl,” is what he tells her and she’s not happy about that answer if her pausing to scowl at the batter is anything to go by. She begins mixing again and then she opens her mouth once more. 

“But, she didn’t call neither!” she somewhat belts and Graham sighs. “She didn’t call to tell me g’night and to kiss away monsters!”

“I know, sweetheart, I know… do you want chocolate chips?” She nods but bites her bottom lip.

“Does mommy not love me anymore?” she then asks him quietly and he’s quick to move the batter and pick her up. He puts a hand beneath her chin and tilts it up so that their eyes meet.

“She loves you more than life itself, Rae, she’s just-,”

“-busy, I know- but I hate it! I miss my mommy!” she cries and she’s sniffling because it all sucks, a lot. The phones rings and as Graham is trying to shush her and coo her, he picks up the receiver and all he hears be whispered into the phone with so much relief is 

_ ‘She’s awake.’ _

 

_ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ _

Three days. That’s how long it took for Regina to show any signs of being awake. It was three days of back and forth. Three days of back and forth. Three fucking days of just flat out back and forth. It was three days of Emma being back and forth because Cora refused to move from the hospital room until Regina showed signs of improvement. It was three days of back and forth conversation between her and Graham in order for them all to be kept in the loop. It was three days of back and forth where Noly was concerned because Cora never neglected to send an I love you for the little girl even though she couldn’t very well pull herself away from her youngest to speak. It was three days for Emma going back and forth because the woman wouldn’t eat, but the blonde was much the same. It was three days of no showers, no teeth brushings-nothing, just focusing on the brunette who lay limply in the bed, her breathing being assisted by tubing and a ventilation system. It was three days of them both watching the nurses come in to sponge Regina’s body down and still wince and feel sorrow of the young woman’s now apparent bruising. That’s how long it took for Regina to show signs of improvement. That’s how long it took for the brunette to come back after she’d fallen into a small coma. 

 

Emma and Cora had already had a somewhat silent system going where Emma would take the evening shift of watch and Cora would take the morning, but the mother of two soon realized that the blonde was relentless in her watch. She’d barely slept and barely eaten, two of the things Cora was sure she needed more than anything else at that point.

 

_ “Meet you where?” came a rather confused question. _

_ “At the hospital entrance, Graham,” Emma tells him and he’s still confused.  _

_ “Why? Do you need something?” _

_ “I don’t, but Cora needs a change of clothes and I don’t wanna go too far in case she wakes up. We haven’t really been getting any updates or anything and if I leave now and there is one, I’ll be pissed,” she expresses and Graham makes a noise akin to acknowledgment. _

_ “She doesn’t need them,’ he tells her after a brief moment of silence. “She just came out of the hospital yesterday, so she should have a change of clothes somewhere in the room, check the drawers or look for the duffel bag. If it isn’t enough, I’ll bring more,” _

_ “I think you should just do that now,” Emma tells him honestly and he nods though she can’t see him. _

_ “Alright, sure.. What about you. Do you need anything?” _

_ “No,” she shakes her head. “I’m fine. Just make sure you bring those clothes for Cora. I’ve got everything else. _

_ This was day one. _

Emma was also constantly and consistently after Whale in hopes that he could give them something and all of that was just in the first day. She had hopes that he could put his useless behind to work and figure out if Regina’s brain activity was improving or not, but Whale wasn’t a neurologist, he was barely involved in the Ortho department. He proved useless in that aspect and in order for them to get a hold of a neurologist- it would take a bit of time.. Or as he clarified -’a few days.’ They didn’t have a few days. They were barely out of the woods themselves and he was telling them a few days. Of course it didn’t sit well with Emma and it was some short form entertainment for Cora when the blonde pretty much grabbed Whale by the collar and shook the ever loving hell out of the man. Though it entertained the matriarch in that sitting, she’d still taken to asking the blonde a very in depth question as it related to her daughter.

 

_ The first day was slowing leaving just as the second night was coming. They-Emma and Cora- were sat with the last rays of the sun setting and casting its final glow across the panes of glass in the hospital room where Regina lay, eyes closed and the slow-almost deafening beep of her heart monitor going in afforded intervals. Emma was still sat directly next to the comatose young woman and her hand had never let go of Regina’s. Cora had seen this from the night prior, but now it was starting to interest her even more as time went along. The only times Emma ever let go was when she went to pee or get Cora food or to find Whale and ask if there was anything-something that could let them know Regina would be okay. Of course he had nothing right then and there, not that he ever seemed to have anything when she asked, but, that just seemed to be Whale. Lazy and inexperienced. _

 

_ “Why do you care so much?” Cora had asked the blonde and Emma was confused. She’d looked away from Regina’s peaceful face for a moment to look at Cora who was merely sat in one of the other hospital chairs, hands in her lap and query in her eyes. _

_ “Hmm?”  _

_ “I asked why you care about my daughter who you don’t even know?” she repeats and though that’s not what she asked in exact question prior to, the question itself was still along the lines of the answer she was looking for. _

_ “I don’t know,” Emma begins because in all honesty-she doesn’t know. She thinks for a moment before she responds to the question. “I guess I just..see something in her- something that reminds me of the innocence in the world.” _

_ “You mean feeble-mindedness, or the inability to protect herself,” Cora commented and Emma shakes her head indignantly. _

_ “No- not that! I see… I don’t know, I guess I feel like she and I connect on some level. As crazy as that may sound, I just can’t explain why it feels like I’ve known her all my life, or felt like I may have thought about her so much. Looking at her, I see someone I can’t place but I know she was there...is that crazy? Does that make me crazy?” she asks and Cora is silent for a moment before she shakes her head. _

_ “No..it’s entirely understandable. I suppose that’s to be expected given the circumstance,” she answers and Emma’s almost positive she knows what the woman is referring to, but she just leaves it alone. Cora then gets up from where she is sat and makes her way over to her daughter before she rests a hand to Regina’s warm forehead. “Noly’s not going to like seeing you like this,sweetheart. I need you to wake up- you’re not supposed to leave me, remember?” Cora questions and it sounds wet from what Emma gathers and as she whispers on and on, Emma’s mind catches onto the name she hears be repeated multiple times.  _

_ ‘ _ **_Noly?_ ** _ ’ the name rings off in her head and that spurs her mind into a short flashback until she remembers the distinct reprimand on Regina’s lips when her daughter barrelled into Emma. Emma remembers when the little girl had whispered ‘mommy mad.’ She remembers catching sight of the brunette and then is when she realizes. ‘ _ **_Shit! That’s her!_ ** _ ’ It hits her hard and she has no idea why, but it hits her like a frieght and she starts to cry. Cora’s confused but trying to figure out why Emma’s crying is something she can’t do right that second because she herself is crying, so she just lets the blonde woman cry. Cora soon allows her staccato breathing to subside and wipes away the remnants of her tears, but Emma’s still sniffling and rubbing at her watery eyes with anguish. Emma apologises about her tears and hysterics a good while later, but Cora shakes her head at the woman. She internally sympathises with the blonde even though she could just be bitter about the situation and completely deny Emma all rights and access to her daughter. She doesn’t do any of that though, instead, she finds herself just on the verge of questioning the blonde’s sadness. Still, she doesn’t do that either. She settles for telling her not to apologise because-  _

_ “Something in you needed to let that out."  _

 

_ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ _

 

It’s much much later when the pair of women have come down and passed through Emma’s moment of tears and Cora’s blatant discomfort in ways to make her feel better. She doesn’t find it being her place to comfort a woman who clearly isn’t looking to be comforted. Emma just wants to let it out and Cora lets her do that because like she’d told her earlier- the blonde needed to let it out. The pair then talk on and on randomly for a bit longer and Emma asks Cora how she’s feeling. Cora’s initial response comes in the form of flaring up at even the thought of the question because that garnered thoughts that pushed her back into the mindset she had when she saw the way her daughter had literally just collapsed without so much as an indication. Cora answers her honestly. She admits,

“ I want him dead. I want him dead for harming my child and making her feel as though she was nothing more than a toy for him to scratch and throw away. I want that man dead because he stripped her of her strength- strength she already felt she had no rights to have. I want your grandfather dead, Emma,” she says to her and Emma can only nod. Hell, she wants the man dead too after that. But then she sees Cora shaking her head. She watches the woman stand up abruptly and pace with the madness that neglects all aspects of control. She sees the blatant fire in the woman’s eyes and that fire is solely representative of an innate need to get revenge, but then she finds Cora’s look shrouded with something akin to guilt. “Though I’d give all my earnings just to have that man several feet beneath the standard level of burial… I probably won’t- though, I’m nearly positive many others would have no issue in doling out physical reprimands to him,” she finds herself admitting and Emma is surprised, but in the same breath, she isn’t. Cora’s angry- but she’s also very human and that’s something Emma finds to be very interesting.

“I’m sure they would,” the blonde admits and Cora sighs.

“I’m sorry,” she says and Emma scrunches up her face in confusion.

“Sorry? What are you sorry for?”

“Your lineage,” she begins and Emma tilts her head. Cora continues. “Your grandfather is nothing but a glorified rapist and I find myself feeling sympathy for you because I’m sure this isn’t the image you had hoped to have of him,” she explains and Emma shrugs. She understands what Cora’s telling her right now, but she shakes her head.

“To be honest, I didn’t even know the man was alive and I’d rather know he’s this sadistic human than to have some facade be my givings- but if you’re looking for me to beg you to spare him- don’t. He deserves whatever happens to him...I just can’t believe my mother never told me he was alive and this...despicable. Unless she didn’t know,” 

“She has her reasons, trust me,” Cora tells her and when Emma moves to argue, Cora shakes her head. “Emma, sometimes there are things that parents don’t tell you for the simple reasoning that telling you will warrant destructive thoughts. Your mother, though I knew little of her, was exactly the way I am as I’ve been told by many. The reason she neglected to tell you of your grandfather is simply because she wants you to form your own opinion of the man. He may be different with you than he was with her and many others. Good or bad.” There’s silence for a moment and then Emma finally nods. 

“I understand,” 

“I knew you would. Sometimes we have no choice but to understand,” 

“So I’m learning,” she admits and Cora nods. Silence is once again evident amongst them and the words continue to swim around in Emma’s head and resonate with her inner monologue of thoughts.

She finds herself so distracted by her own words that she doesn’t even realize the stirring of the body beside her and then finally there’s a painful groan and a plea.

“Ma...ma,” comes from Regina’s lips and both Cora and Emma perk up at that. They’re both shot up and out of their chairs and at the woman’s side quicker than she could allow herself to get a blink in.

“I’m right here sweetheart,” Cora coos and Regina whimpers once again. 

“Ma-ma,” she manages much more strongly and Cora nods with an eagerness that Emma has never seen radiate so quickly in such a short space of time. She looks up at Emma who doesn’t need to be told twice. The blonde is up and gone in search of Whale, plus she’s calling Graham.

 

_ This-this was the continuation of day three. _

 

“She-she’s awake?” he questions carefully and hears Emma sigh in relief.

“She is. She just woke up and she’s..alive. Graham-she’s alive and she’s speaking,” Emma says and it feels like it was said so slowly, but for some reason the words rush his mind in rapid succession. He finds himself turning to see Noly’s face and  _ ‘God, if only she knew her mother was okay! _ ’ His hand comes up to cover his mouth and he’s pulling at his bottom lip. He’s not sure if he feels relief or fear or a mix of the two, but something inside him is making his heart beat faster than a double entendre. He feels it pounding against his ribcage as if it’s en route to crushing the bones that keep it protected. Graham has no idea what he’s feeling, which concludes why he keeps repeating the question. 

“She’s awake?” Emma doesn’t get upset, she merely says it all with a smile again and again.

“She’s awake.”

“She’s awake,” he finally says in acknowledgment and Emma nods before she hums.

“I think it’s time you bring in her daughter so she can see her,” the blonde suggests and he’s nodding before his eyes blink rapidly and he answers and bit chopped.

“Y-yeah.. Okay,” he says before he’s rubbing at his eyes and then he takes a deep breath. It’s the breath he probably should have taken minutes ago, but it’s either late or never. “We’ll be there soon,” he tells Emma and by the lack of answer she gives him, he knows she’s relieved still because it’s all she’d been tied to for the past three days. Fear, pain, everything that wasn’t relief and happiness.They hang up without another word and Graham turns to his goddaughter. “Monkey,” he calls and Noly’s pout is still there, but she looks up at him.

“Yessir,” she answers and his internal emotions let him smile because she’s still well-mannered even when she’s cranky. “What do you say we go see mommy at the hospital today?” he questions and the instant that leaves his mouth, her eyes are lit up like saucers with gratitude. She’s bouncing on the countertop with excitement that he doesn’t even try to tell her tamp down on.

“CAN WE?!” she asks loudly and happily and her godfather nods.

“We can.. She’s awake now,” he tells her but he doesn’t explain what he means by that. She nods eagerly and tries to hop off the counter, but he catches her and sets her down. He kneels down to her height before he speaks. “We need to get dressed and get your goddy before we go though- so do you think you can be a big girl for me and pick out something to wear?” he asks her and her determination is set as she nods quickly and runs off to go find some clothes. Graham puts away all the things for breakfast and just settles on a juice pouch and some kid friendly snacks for the little girl before he packs them in her knapsack. He takes the towel that was slung over his shoulder and wipes his wet hands when he’s done before they rest atop the edge of the kitchen sink and he laughs almost in disbelief. His eyes set on the ceiling and he lets them shut and just continues to shake his head, another disbelief based laugh drifting from his lips. “Miracles happen..once in a while,” he whispers to himself before he hears Noly scream for him.

“Uncle Graaaaaaahhhaam!” He laughs once more, this one bordering on silliness as he exits the kitchen and goes in search of the little girl.

Once they’re both dressed and ready to go, he grabs her knapsack as well as all of the things that were usually clipped to his police belt and his coat. He tosses a beanie onto Noly’s head because her curls are wild and untamable and he doesn’t know how to do hair..still. They quickly go downstairs and Graham sets Noly on a bar stool.

“We need to go,” he tells his wife when she comes to greet them and she’s confused for a moment before she sees the smile break out on his face.

“Graham?-” she questions, but he’s so full of some form of energy that he cuts her off in his excitement.

“-She’s-awake, Ruby! Regina’s awake,” he says and it’s fast and skittish and choppy, but he gets it out and the smile that’s literally got the man ready to vibrate from his shoes spurs Ruby’s own to become apparent. 

“She’s awake?” she asks and oddly enough it registers the same way he’d questioned Emma, but he’s so fucking happy at this point that he’s just nodding insanely quick.

“She is-so we need to go. Emma just called, Regina’s awake and she’s speaking,” he informs his wife and Ruby nods, still shell-shocked. She then takes her apron off and heads to the back and lets Granny know. The old woman is then pushing her back through the doors and telling her to ‘Hurry the hell up and go, then!’ Ruby doesn’t need to be told twice before she’s grabbing up her keys and purse and is practically shoving her goddaughter and husband out the door. 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Once the trio have arrived to the hospital, and are directed on where to go, Graham sets his goddaughter down and  Noly breaks off into a sprint for her mother once they reach the room. The first person she sees is her grandmother and she’s hugs her tightly.

“Nona!” she greets happily and Cora smiles.

“Noly,” Cora whispers as she hugs the little girl tighter. She hasn’t seen her in three whole days and that’s usually enough to warrant Cora to send out a search party, but she was so caught up in trying to be there for every...un-waking second with Regina that all she’d managed to do was relay how much she loved the little girl through Emma and Graham’s phone calls. By now, Cora is strong enough after three days to hold her and hug her and talk with her for a moment until Noly looks for Regina. She’s not surprised the child searches for her mother with eagerness, and who would blame her? Who could blame her for searching for the woman when she spent three full days away from her. Noly catches her mother’s eyes and she can see Regina’s  hooked up to some IV’s. She’s not sure why but she’s then squirming free of her grandmother’s hold and Cora let’s her go. Noly walks over to her mother with hesitance and the closer she gets to her mother, the paler the woman looks, but she also sees her mother’s eyes are lit with the beauty they usually held. The sparkle that she was so used to seeing was still there and even though she was young, she understood something in her mother’s eyes. _ Hope and happiness. _  Regina’s been assisted after she woke if the smell of fresh soap and mint are anything to go by. After the usual nurses came in and were shocked by her alertness and her strength to prop herself up by some pillows, giving her a sponge bath seemed to be so minute in comparison. Her hair had been brushed back and out of her face, a long ponytail laying lifelessly against her spine. Her face- was as Noly noticed, pale in complexion, but other than that, Regina had energy that no one was sure of where it had come from. Her eyes light up immediately when she sees Noly who’s already scaling the railing to get into the bed with her mother. Internally she finds herself laughing because Noly acted much like she did as a child. Cora shakes her head and gets up before she’s helping her granddaughter into the bed with her mother. Noly’s excitement peaks and they all find that the little girl bouncing on her knees is about as much energy as she can give off, completely aware that her mother could get hurt. Still, her bouncing on her knees and then clambering all over Regina come directly after and the mother of one hides a wince as her daughter tackles her with a hug. Arm’s come up and around the child, hiding her into her chest.

“Mommy?” she whispers in question and Regina nods with tears in her eyes.

“Right here, baby girl. Mommy’s right here,” she coos and Noly nods against her chest.

“You smell good, momma,” she comments and her mother chuckles lightly before kissing the top of her head. Noly removes her face from her mother’s chest and looks at her. Regina’s rubbing her back and looking at her child like she was the greatest gift on the planet.

“I just had a bath,” she whispers and Noly scrunches up her face.

“But.. you hate baths,” she comments and Regina laughs again.

“I know, but in a hospital, everyone has to take baths,”

“Why?”

“Because it’s easier so you don’t get hurt when you have needles and IVs in your arms, or tubes in your mouth,”

“Oh,” she says,still clearly confused and her mother just kisses her again. “ I missed you, momma,” she admits and Regina’s eyes drip. Tears trail and she’s tearily grinning. “Momma- no crying,” Noly tells her before she’s using her little fingers and wiping away Regina’s tears.

“I’m sorry, baby. Momma’s just really happy you’re here,” she admits and it’s true. It’s so true that it’s painful when she inhales. The thought of leaving her child behind- made her fight. The thought of leaving her mother behind- made her fight. The thought of leaving her sister behind or her father behind- made her fight. Graham and Ruby and everyone else who ever gave a single damn about her- made Regina fight to stay alive. She fought to come back.. And part of that was so she could say thank you to whoever it was that saved her. Noly buries her face back into her mother’s chest and just hugs her even tighter and though Regina’s body hasn’t fully recovered, she takes the pain because she hasn’t felt her little girl’s arms wrapped around her in three days. She hasn’t heard her daughter’s voice in three days and that infuriates her to no end. Her inner turmoil is threatening to boil over where Leopold White was involved. She only comes back to reality when Noly speaks again.

“Can we go home now, mommy?” she questions and Regina sighs.

“Not just yet, baby. The doctors have to check and make sure I’m okay,” she tells her and Noly nods against her chest. 

Emma’s been sat there in the chair after she’d called Graham and found Whale and some nurses. She’d merely blended in with the furniture as the man did a general assessment of Regina, one in which was clearly half-assed, however he was correct that Regina would probably feel less irritable after she was given her sponge bath by the nurses. He claimed he’d return a bit later after his usual rounds and they just had to take the man’s word for it. So, after even that was done because she went ahead and excused herself from the room. She’d gotten Cora and Regina something to eat, but everything for breakfast that morning just looked like it’d been pre-chewed, so she settled on yogurt and granola and juice. To say she now feels awkward as she sits in the room and watches as mother and daughter reconnect would be an understatement. So, she’s rising to leave, but then Noly notices her and she’s grinning.

“Emmaaaa!” she squeals happily and the blonde flinches in surprise. She sees Noly’s eyes are even wider with happiness as she looks at her and Emma manages a soft smile back.

“He,kid,” she says and Noly grins.

“Uncle Graham said you couldn’t come to practice cus you were busy- are you not busy anymore?” she questions and Emma looks over at Regina who gives her a pleading look and the blonde gives in.

“No, I’m not busy anymore, kid,” she tells her and she laughs when Noly claps excitedly.

“Does that mean you can come to practice tomorrow?”

“Maybe,” Emma says with a wink before she walks over to the bed and sits just at the edge. Noly scrambles away from her mother for a moment and sits next to Emma. She lets her feet dangle between the railing of the hospital bed as she continues to talk with Emma.

“I’m gonna teach you how to aim and shoot,” she tells the blonde and Emma does her best version of seeming surprised.

“You are huh?”

“Uhuh, uncle Graham said I’m his best student,” she comments and Graham laughs from the doorway.

“Monkey, you’re my only student,” he jokes and she grins at him. Regina’s too busy watching the interaction her daughter is having with this mysterious blonde who she remembers from the other day. She supposes she should feel some type of way considering the woman’s grandfather nearly raped her, but then again, she has absolutely no connection to what happened, in fact,s he was the one who saved Regina because she shot the bastard. At least, that’s what her mother told her when Emma had left the room.

It’s through all of that where somehow, Cora has managed to slip out the hospital room and she along with Graham and Ruby look on at the three through a glass window that affords them the view. 

“And she said my family was beautiful.. They look more married than we ever did,” Ruby comments with a soft smile and Graham looks over at her. There’s something in his wife’s eyes that tell him, she’s so relieved but she’s still so afraid that they’re not even remotely out of the woods yet. He turns his gaze back to the window and looks on.

“Yes, I’m beginning to think the same..she never left her side. She wouldn’t let me do anything unless it was eating or peeing and I felt more like a prisoner than anything else, but I see why she did it. I see why she made it a priority to be there at every single moment because right at this point in time, I know I would not have made it through if she wasn’t there. I wouldn’t have had enough strength to smile and hug my child if Emma wasn’t there making sure I did everything I needed to do in order to not just be awake for Regina, but be healthy enough that she wasn’t worried the minute she woke up.” 

“...she’s really something,” Graham says after some silence and Cora nods.

“She is.. starkly contrast to her mother and father. She’s more..throwing her life on the line it seems,” Cora commented as she thought. The words didn’t quite add up to what she was trying to say but it got there. It was close enough for right now.

“I’ve just never seen Noly take to anyone that fast.. Remember how long it took her to get used to Belle?”

“That’s because Belle’s glassy eyes scared her,” Graham commented with a laugh. “ I’d be scared too if I was her age and my babysitter looked both possessed and blind.”Ruby bobbed her head on that one before she shrugged.

“I guess,” is the response she settles for and Graham shakes his head with a smile. Cora then pats Graham on the shoulder before she tells him she needs to go and change, but he follows behind her, leaving Ruby a look over his shoulder that she understands.

“Wait- hold on,” he says to Cora quietly and she pauses. She turns around and raises a brow at him. “How are you.. Really and truly, how are you?” he questions and Cora takes a moment to pause. She’d thought she’d answered this question before and figured she’d given an honest enough response, but in the same breath, she supposes she hasn’t as well.

“In all honesty.. I’m trying to hold it together, but my last bit of resolve and control are breaking right before my eyes.” He falls silent because those words are deep enough that he needs to understand them a bit more before giving her the wrong response. He sighs.

“I know if I say I understand you’ll tell me I don’t, which is fine, but I wish I could so that my sympathy would be worth something when I say that it’ll all get better,” he admits but she shakes her head.

“Never apologise for not understanding or not going through a situation-especially a bad one, just to sympathise with someone. Be grateful that you  _ don’t _ have a daughter who has been put through such a trauma that she’s practically blocking it out of her mind and smiling as though all she got was a cut on her forehead. Be grateful your daughter isn’t masking her pain from us all just so we don’t feel pity for her, or think her to be weak or constantly in need of protection. Graham, be grateful that you don’t have a daughter who will still put everyone else’s smile before her own pain because right at this point in time, that’s exactly what mines is doing. She digressing and regressing in the most unnerving ways imaginable. The second she was awake, the first thing she’d done was ask about everyone else. She avoided us even talking about what happened three days ago just because she was afraid to fall into a dark hole again. She didn’t want to talk about it then and I doubt she would now. She was avoiding any and everything that would even remotely remind her of it when in actuality her fractured coccyx that as Whale put it ‘requires PT’ will remind her for the next few months of exactly what happened.”

 

Silence.

He’s not happy about it.

“I’m not happy about this,” he admits but Cora gives a dry smile and tells him, 

“Neither is Regina.” He sighs at that because it’s beyond true.

“Have you called Mister Mills and Zelena?” he then questions and the woman moves her tongue around in her mouth before she nods.

“You shouldn’t even ask me that question,” she tries to joke and he gives a ghost of a smile. “However, yes- I have, but between getting flights on short notice and layovers, neither of them are sure when they’ll reach,” she tells him and he nods. “ How are  _ you _ feeling?” she then questions him and he’s shocked at the question. Ruby had asked him that before, but he’d brushed it off and he’d asked her the exact same, but she’d brushed it off as well. “You look like hell and you look about as good as I feel, which is terrible,” she comments and he looks down at himself. He is a bit disheveled but nothing a shirt tucked into his wrangler’s won’t fix.

“Noly kept me busy with the questions that I couldn’t answer and between me and Ruby- distractions were our best friends considering we needed them in order to keep her from asking about Regina so much,”

“That bad huh?”

“You have no idea… I wanted to tell her-so many times, I wanted to tell her. I just wanted to tell her that Regina had been hurt and that she couldn’t move and couldn’t smile and couldn’t say I love you all because of that sick fuck in office,” he seethes and Cora just lets him. “ I wanted to tell her that the mayo, the same twisted fuck that said he loved children and would never hurt a woman, hurt her mother and put her in the hospital. I wanted to tell her I’d kill him because of what he did to Regina,”

“Why didn’t you?” Cora questions and Graham snaps from his anger quickly.

“Because,” he starts, ready to argue but no actual point there. “Because…. Because she’s too young to go through that. She’s too young to have to see her mother in pain. She’s too young to have to learn at such an age that people are disgusting and that their minds are twisted-demented even. She’s too young to have innocence taken away and scared to the degree that she doesn’t even trust herself. She shouldn’t  _ have _ to deal with that right now- or ever!” He says passionately and Cora’s internal emotions churn until she finds herself hugging Graham tightly. 

“You need to rest,” he hears her say. “Your eyes are bloodshot and you look like you could pass out at any second.

“I can’t,” he mutters and she rubs his back. “I’ve been having nightmare. Everything just keeps replaying over and over and over again,” he whispers and she rubs his back some more.

“You  and Emma both had nightmares and haven’t been able to rest. You’ve just been rallying around everyone else to keep your mind off of it. It’s time we all rest. Either that or we all end up in the hospital from exhaustion.”’ He nods in understanding 

“How do you just… brush it all off?” Graham questions the woman and Cora shrugs into their hug.

“ I don’t wear my emotions on my face. That’s the difference between you and I.”

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Graham, after being hugged so lovingly by Cora, lets her go and deal with herself before he finds himself wandering back towards Regina’s room. Ruby is still watching by the window as Regina’s hands are in motion and expressive, Noly listening intently.

“She’s explaining why she’s all hooked up,” Ruby tells him and he makes a sound akin to a sigh. She looks over at him and can see his pain is rampant. Ruby puts a hand to his back and rubs it. “It’ll be okay,” she tells him and he wishes he could tell her she doesn’t know that, but he himself doesn’t know that it won’t be either. Graham just rests his head on her shoulder until they see Noly fiddle with Regina’s IV. She blatantly distraught until Emma puts a hand under her chin and begins to talk to her. She seems to be telling her something that makes her nod and then she’s telling her something else that’s making her smile and then they’re both looking at Regina with matching grins and puppy dog eyes. Of course the mother of one caves and they both cheer.

“They look so married,” Ruby says with a small grin and Graham nods. 

“They do.”

Regina  then catches both of their eyes and motions them in. Emma looks over and smiles a little as the pair smile back and Ruby and Regina go off into conversation. Noly has scrambled into Emma’s lap and Regina’s just shy of telling her not to when Emma tells her it’s okay and Noly nods,

“Yeah, momma- Emma said it’s okay!” Ruby pulls Regina back into conversation and Emma and Graham talk about the ordeal. He tells her she needs to rest and she tells him so does he. He agrees but then he tells her he has to work and if he doesn’t then, there’s going to be an issue and he still has a lot of filing to do as it relates to Emma’s grandfather. 

“He’s not my grandfather and he’s not a grandfather. He’s a serial rapist,” she spits as she covers Noly’s ears. Graham holds up his hands in surrender and Emma sags a bit. 

“You know I’m going to need you to come in and give an account for the other day right?” 

“Yeah, I know, but since I’ve been here, none of that even crossed my mind,”

“It’s fine, trust me. I haven’t really bothered doing anything else but making sure that they cleared all the spots from the office to the bedrooms and the living room… whenever you’re ready though,” he tells her and she doesn’t say yeah or no. She actually asks Graham. 

“Will he be there?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean if he’ll be there where I can see him?”

“...yeah.. Yeah, he’ll be there. There’s only three cells and we don’t really have another location to put criminals because we rarely have them,”

“The one ‘lucky’ town with the worst possible human in it.. Tragic,” Emma replies dryly and Graham sighs. They both find that Noly seems to be squirming in worry and it isn’t until she asks for her grandmother’s whereabouts that they understand her concern.

“She told her,” Emma tells him and it’s no surprise. He just breathes heavily and nods with an 

“I know.”

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Graham convinces Emma to leave the hospital for a moment and it’s because the blonde has been wearing the same things for the past three days and he just politely tells her she’s starting to smell. She laughs and agrees that she probably could use a shower and a toothbrush and he agrees once more making her laugh. Graham talks to Regina for a bit and they talk around the incident and just catch up. Of course she tells him he needs to rest and thanks him for keeping Noly since she’s been in the hospital. Of course he tells her it was no problem because it was something that kept him from thinking so much. It’s a while later that he hugs her goodbye, telling her he needs to take Emma to go get her changed and fed and Regina feels guilty. She looks at Emma who shakes her head and tells her it’s okay and though Regina would love to argue, her biting her bottom lip says she won’t. Graham then informs her that Ruby will have to take Noly because he has to get back to the station and deal with Leopold and she nods. Graham shakes his head and laughs slightly and Regina’s confused. He says 

“It’s just… all we’ve all been doing is nodding back and forth,” 

“ I guess we have nothing better to say,” Regina responds and Graham shrugs before he’s laughing again. 

“See?” he says and Regina smiles a little. 

“ I guess it’s good to find something to smile about in a time like this,” she says and his face pinches slightly.

“Yeah,I guess you’re right,” he agrees.

 

He leaves with Emma and after she gets dressed Graham is surprised she’s ready to go right back out and to the hospital. He manages to get her to sit down and take a breather which she hates, but since it’s Graham she bends for him. He lets her know after she questions anyone else being there for Regina that her father and sister were coming back down and should be there in a another working day. She’s confused and he tells her that Zelena’s off in London and Regina’s father is somewhere in Europe on business. She tilts her head back and tries to relax but she can’t so Graham tells her to come go for a ride with him. She agrees with a bit of a sigh but she agrees nonetheless. They take a ride and then Graham gets called into the station. He tells Emma he may need to drop her back but she tells him it’s fine. He’s suspicious over why her mood has changed so quickly over the course of twenty minutes, but he drives to the station and when he gets there, of course she wanders around and because she wanders around, she finds herself at the cell where her grandfather is sat there, staring at the ground, his arm in a sling and his thin hair just weird looking.

He catches sight of her sneakers and looks up and over at her. 

“Who are you?” he questions and finally his face is clear before her. She can see her mother’s eyes and her mother’s slightly dimpled chin from him, but it’s not enough to induce any form of sympathy for what she does next. Emma swallows, broadens her shoulders and squares her jaw and says. 

“I’m the one who shot you, you sick fuck,” she spits and he looks at her for a moment before he’s laughing and that laugh he gives off is fully out of disbelief. 

“You?!” he mocked. “ You shot me?! Ha!” he laughs and she grinds her teeth. 

“ Yes,I shot you after you attempted to rape a woman and a mother. I shot you in the shoulder when I should have shot you in the head for even putting your grimy hands on her! I shot you in the shoulder and watched you- slumped over in your underwear looking pretty fucking embarrassed that you got caught and quite afraid of her mother might I add. I shot you- _ Leopold White  _ because you figured that if you raped a young woman in her parents’ home to silence her and keep her away from anyone who could possibly come to her rescue, that you’d get off with it scott-free!”

“And just who the hell are you to speak to me that way!?’ he questions and it sounds blasphemous. She rolls her eyes at him and says. 

“Do you remember your one and only child-Mary Margaret. You know the one who left the second she was engaged. The one who married David Nolan- the man you told her was worthless and blah blah… well- I’m the product of your unwanted love dear grandfather,” she says as she stalks closer and closer towards the cell where he’s standing and staring at her, head tilting in confusion. “Emma Swan-Nolan,” she says with a sway of her head and a dominant smile. “I’m the grandchild you never wanted... And the one who put that bullet in your shoulder but could’ve easily put it through your brain,” she smirks.

  
  
  
  



	6. Knowing things is terrible

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is a short chapter and that's saying a lot considering how I usually write and I know I'm late but I'm working full time now and it's kicking my assssssssss. Still, do enjoy, thanks for reading

The man fidgets where he is on the cell cot as he looks square into the blonde woman’s eyes. He is unnerved in that moment and quite clearly shocked and queasy at the prospect that this is in fact his granddaughter and that Emma was there, that she knew him and who he was.

“How did y-,” he doesn’t get to finish because she scoffs right then and there in interruption.

“-how do you think? People talk! That’s how!...Did you honestly think that at some point in time I  _ wouldn’t _ find out the kind of monster you are?” she questions and is surprised when he shakes his head and his face falls almost sadly.

“No...your mother ..after she left, we’d lost contact,”

“That was intentional,” Emma clarifies with her arms folded and she’s gotten even closer to the jail cell’s bars. The same could be said for her grandfather who’d looked like he’d levitated from his spot and floated over to the bars of the cell door.

“I assumed as much,” he admitted in a contemplative tone. Emma’s face remained the same. Stoney.

“Whatever, enjoy what you’ve got left because you’re about to die in a 4x4 hole-soon enough,” she tells him before turning to leave. There’s just something about this conversation that consistently rubs her the wrong way-fuck! She wishes it wouldn’t rub her at all.

“You did good,” he says and those words are stopping her. Her eyes squint almost angrily and confusedly at the same time. Incredulous more so.

“ _ What? _ ” she asks him. He repeats himself.

“I said, you did good-,” Emma puts her hand up and shakes her head.

“-No,” she says strongly and sternly. “I don’t need a pat on the back from you over any aspect of my life...right now you should be begging for mercy but instead you’re congratulating me-for what?! Shooting you in the arm instead of the head like I should have,” she answers her own question. He smirks and she scowls.

“You’re disgusting!” she spits. “Don’t you have any shame? Any remorse? Any guilt!?” she badgers because she truly wants to know how much of the man is actually human. The man doesn’t even take a breath before he answers.

“No.” It’s simple and deafening, it’s a blow to Emma that she rises to and answers all too quickly for her own good. He unnervs her with more words. “I quite like the fact that it occured the way it did, minus the initial bullet wound,”

“You’re sick,” she tells him.

“I’m not denying that,” he tells her and that’s about all she can take.

“I hope you rot in this jail cell before they’re even done processing this case,” she grinds out and there’s no skimping on the venom coating her words.

“I just might- what with the lack of care and concern I’ve been given for this wound. But, you asked a question, for which and answer was given. Either I admit to the lack of guilt I feel or lie to make you feel better, which, let’s be honest here, you’d have picked up on it in seconds had I lied to you, am I right?” he questions, but he’s not actually in need of an answer. She’s now even more uncomfortable if her feet shifting from left to right was anything to go by. He smirks once again. “It’s probably best you go...you seem,” he pauses to tilt his head. “ _ Weary _ ,” he offers  a response to her current mental capacity and she wavers for a moment/ After some odd period of silence, he’s walked back and sat himself down on the cot and the blonde begins to exit the station once again. “Oh, and Emma,” he says and even though she’s walking out the station, she can’t help but adhere to his words when her name is called. “Give my best to Regina won’t you,” he says before a laugh and that...that just makes her steps quicken as she exits and finds the bullpen where Graham is.

 

“Woah, you look pale- what happened?” comes Graham’s question and she swallows.

“H-he…” she stops herself and Graham guides her to a chair. He sits her down and gets her water that she denies. Graham just nods, his head tilts and her waits for her voice to come back.”he’s not sorry,” she grounds out in a whispers.

“Who’s not.. Never mind,” he says because he gets it quickly. “You saw him?” Graham questions and she nods almost distractedly.

“he’s not sorry,” she grinds out again in the exact same whisper.

“I know, Em,” Graham whispers in understanding, but does he?

“Do you?” she questions and he does in fact nod again.

“I do,” he tells her and she shakes her head.

“I wish I didn’t,” she admits and the man sighs.

“I know,” he says again and they’re both beginning to sound like scratched records. She jsut sits there...confused and angry.

“He told me to give her his love,” she said both with a shiver and Graham flared.

“I’ll kill him!” he angrily bites out. Emma just sits there.

“Join the club,” she says with a bit of distraction in her tone. “He doesn’t even care what we do to him. He’ll still think the way does about what he did to her… I need distractions,” she says and then Graham is nodding.

“Then I’ve got the perfect thing,” he tells her after he sighs through his anger.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Graham and Emma get into the cruiser and drive up to wherever his goddaughter is in that moment and they pick her up. The little girl is ecstatic and  it’s really no surprise at all how resilient she is and can always be.

“Emmaaaaaa!” she grins and the blonde smiles back at her. Emma tries her hardest not to let the anger she feels over her grandfather rear its head again because that’s the last thing that little girl, she or Graham needed.

“Hey kid...how’s your grandmother and momma doing?”

“Momma’s fine, nana’s….old,” Noly snickers as she answers the blonde finds herself laughing right there with her.

“Hey monkey, can you guess where we’re going,” Graham asks in subject change and his goddaughter sees a certain vest of Velcro and stickers he’s holding up in his hands and immediately she shrieks happily.

“GUN RAAAAANGE!” she answers with excitement that has her bouncing in her carseat. The squad car, well, that particular squad car always had a car seat because Noly tended to travel around with her godparents very often if she wasn’t with her mother, grandmother or even Belle.

“Gun range?” Emma questions as she turns her sights to Graham and he nods with a smile.

“Gun range.”

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

The ‘gun range’ turns out to be a typical police range for a town of that caliber. It’s honestly not some high tech state of the art kind of thing considering it felt more like a little country-like town rather than a well adjusted one full of quiet but tailoured individuals. Technically it wasn’t a gun range at all if you asked Emma to describe it.. If you did she’d refer to it as ‘a flat field with stalls and targets...and maybe a trashcan or two. It would pass for a shooting range, but in all honesty, it just looked more like someone’s unkempt backyard. Noly doesn’t care if her getting herself dressed as fast as possible was any indication. The little girl clearly gravitates to the one stall that is smack in the middle of all the other ones and Emma can tell it’s her favourite because there’s papers and stickers and all those childlike momentos in there that give away to Noly’s consistent presence. The blonde looks at Graham who just looks back at her and shrugs.

“You coming?” he questions and Emma shakes her head with a smile before following.

“Yeah,” she tells him and watches as he sets up Noly’s stall for her. In a bit of a content moment, Emma finds herself sighing almost easily at the sight before her. Graham is hoisting her up and onto one of the stools he usually keeps there for her and is pulling her long hair from her face.

“Alright monkey, I’ll set up the targets for you and then you can start, sound cool?” he questions and she nods happily. Once he’s out of earshot, she looks up and at Emma.

“Thank you for finding my mommy,” she says to the woman and Emma looks at her slightly confused.

“Pardon?”

“You and uncle Graham found my mommy when Mr. White took her...mommy and nana said so..and they said that you always tell nice people thank you,” she explains to the blonde and her words are so clear that they surprise Emma that at her age she’s so well adjusted with them, then again, given how her family is and how much time she’s managed to spend with Cora, she can quite clearly see that they are a rather advanced pair of women. Emma understands it and hugs her.

“Thanks kid,” she says to the little girl who’s rightfully confused herself.

“Why?” is asked and Emma just shrugs but doesn’t really let her go. “Mm… you should have dinner with mommy and nana,” she suggests and then is when Emma hesitates.

“I-I don’t know about that kid… I don’t think your mommy or nana would be comfortable with me there,”

“But..you found my mommy,”

“Yeah, but she doesn’t actually know me either,”

“Then lunch,” both Noly and Graham end up saying at the exact same time and Emma’s eyes dart over to the man who just shrugs.

“I could hear you pretty clear over an empty field,” he grins and Emma looks quite impressed, considering the targets are pretty far away. “Voices carry out here...quickly,” he finds himself saying to her. “Seriously though, after she comes out, she’ll want to thank you and take you to lunch… They all will and then dinner and knowing Regina, she’ll push her recovery out the window,”

“Why?”

“Because that’s just her. She just doesn’t deal with trauma well or at all…..not since she was younger,” he trails off. Emma’s eyes scrunch up in worry.

“Did something happen to her?”

“Not my story to tell,” he informs her and she doesn’t ask about it again.

“Well, you gonna teach me how to handle this or…” she questions as she switches the conversation back to the initial activity.

“Sure, alright,” he says with a smile he’s managed genuinely despite what they all just went through. Graham walks over and hands her his gun which she takes and tilts her head at him.

“Ready?” she questions him and he laughs.

“I should be asking you that.”

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`

 

How are you feeling, sweetheart?” comes the question and it’s from her father no less. Regina looks up quickly and sees him in the doorway. She can also clearly see her sister’s wild mane of hair right behind him.

“Daddy?” she calls confusedly. “Lena?” she calls again because she thinks she might still be high off whatever the hell the hospital gave her, but she wasn’t if her father walking into the room and straight towards her was anything. And if she still thought she was hallucinating, the smell of his cologne that he’s not changed in years was something that made her believe it a little more. Zelena got on the other side and climbed right into the bed and latched onto Regina without a second thought. Tears were in her eyes and anger plagued her mind as she kept her face buried in her sister’s chest. She couldn’t bear to actually look at her sister because she was sure her fears would outwin on what she might end up seeing. The bruises, the marks, the despair… the hollowness in her sister’s eyes, or her innocence that’s been killed, fighting so hard to stay. Regina’s arms are awkwardly out for a second until they relax around Zelena.

“I’m okay,” she whispers after hearing the woman sniffle and bury her face even deeper .

“You’re not, but okay,” Zelena says in true dejected fashion and Regina sighs because her sister’s right, but anyone at that point would be right. “I’m gonna kill him,” Zelena mutters and Regina manages a ghost of a laugh.

“He’s not worth it,” the brunette expresses and her sister scoffs.

“Like hell he isn’t… if it’s one thing that he does deserve, it’s the death penalty,” she bites out and Regina smirks...she does that now.

“Yes and he will get that if the judicial system doesn’t fail us.” Zelena scoffs again-deadly upset now. Regina just hugs her tightly. “Just distract me with the things you’ve been up to,” she commands and then she tilts her head and Zelena groans.

“I’m drowning in work and I walked out of my exam when the dean himself told me I had to… I’m being excused from all my classes for the next few weeks, but they’ll only send half my work. The other half is marked down for something else… but the plane ride was long and it was boring and I’m fucking tired.. But I don’t care about that. School doesn’t matter to me right now. All that I care about is how you’re holding up-,”

“-I’m holding.. I don’t know how high up, but I’m holding,”

“Better than most I suppose?”

“I suppose,” Regina nods. She hugs Zelena tighter and though she’s still in a good bit of pain, she just wants her sister closer to her, or as close as she can get her to be. Their parents have allowed them the short time together because soon is the time that Zelena drifts off from Jet lag and then Regina is hearing her name be called and this time it’s from her father again. He’s at her bedside now after having a short conversation with her mother and she looks up at him.

“Yes sir?” she answers in question.

“Not to sound cliche, but, how are you?” he queries and she almost shrugs.

“I don’t really know,” is different from what she’s told everyone else and that’s likely due to their almost confusing relationship. Her mother had dipped out the room in claims of getting food when in reality she just needed to give them time to talk.

“Seems like it’s finally settling in… have you been having nightmares?”

“Seeing as I haven’t been awake long enough to actually garner any form of tiredness to sleep naturally or be off the medication this place is giving me.. I haven’t actually slept to know,” she explains and that’s the convoluted answer he gets which in retrospect, isn’t very convoluted considering everything.

“You should probably sleep-,” is the comment made and she tilts her head, eyes dipping shut in acknowledgment for a moment, “-but I swear to God I will kill that man,” he vows and Regina shakes her head with a small smile.

“Father, it’s fine.. Besides, I’m almost positive there’s a line for the list of people who want to murder him,”

“You seem as if you pity him,” Henry states a bit hesitant and Regina’s eyes shut for a moment as she inhales deeply. She shakes her head and speaks,

“I don’t.. I just don’t see the need in everyone rallying around and just to quote on quote ‘kill him’...huff, can we just not talk about a man who really could have killed me had they not found me in time, she begs her father and he acquiesces.

“Alright… where’s Noellia?” is his next question and at that he sees a significant difference in her mood.

“Probably at the gun range with Graham and Emma,” she answers as she runs her fingers through her sister’s hair. Her father looks confused, rightly so, because-,

“Emma?...Who’s that?’

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

I didn’t know you would be sooooo...bad on your first lesson,” Graham comments as he and Emma load the empty shell casings into the trashcan.

“Why, because my first impression involved flatout anger and a need to make it stop? I could have told you that,” the blonde tells him and he laughs loudly.

“I guess I expected-,”

“-a prodigy?” he nods and she shakes her head. “Far from it… I’m a better cook than I am a gunman,”

“I hope that’s true,” Graham mutters.

“Uncle Graham, can we go see mommy soon?”

“Of course,monkey, but first we need to go see your goddy and then carry Emma back to the diner because Granny’s gonna need her help, plus, we gotta get lunch right?”

“Right!”

“And then we’ll take some forrrrrr?”

“Mommy and Nana!”

“Yep, so...sound good, monkey?”

“Uhuh,” she nods with a cheeky grin.

 

And so said, so done. They  firstly find Ruby who’s done her part in getting even more clothes for Noly out of the house and meeting them at one of the corners closest to the diner and then they take Emma back in time for her to shower and get ready for her shift and then ordered lunch. Noly was exhausted by the time they waved goodbye to the blonde and Graham buckled her into her carseat. Graham promises to update the blonde if anything happens and Emma nods before heading off and into the kitchen to help Granny. They have the shortest and quickest conversation over how Emma feels because if she remembered correctly it’s been three days since she’d since the woman and though she wasn’t concerned Emma had gone missing she had to wonder just how much of the young woman’s mind had been damaged by what was experienced. So, Granny asked, Emma answered and that was that. The only difference is Emma actually truthfully told her how she felt because for some reason, talking to Granny just felt vastly different from the others who felt emotions so quickly whereas the matron was more experience, much like how Cora was is how Granny tended to be. Once she asked and you answered, she was fine to say she understood because in most cases, she did understand, she just said little which most appreciated. She tosses the young blonde and apron and they begin baking bread in the short interim time that the diner was closed. Granny usually did that to have a bit of an upper hand in case baked goods or breads needed to go with the soups of the day which most people tended to order because they were inexpensive and tasted too good not to eat on a daily basis. 

When Ruby comes in, she’s shooed from the kitchen by both of them who tell her to go and rest because much like Emma, the brunette had been running on whatever autopilot her body managed and Ruby hadn’t slept in days. She would nod off but that was about it. She pulled back to back shifts, and when she wasn’t doing that, she was constantly and consistently asking around if there was any news to which Granny could understand but she also watch the woman go ragged having to lie to the little girl they’d kept for those threes days considering Noellia wasn’t even the slightest bit slow on the upcome. But, she agrees to go to sleep and it’s clear she finally gives into it when she’s out less that five minutes later after Emma carries up a bowl of food behind her. She’d told the woman,

“Granny told me I have to stay here until you eat it all because knowing you, you won’t and you’re probably still a bit jumpy and I offered to watch you in case.” Ruby is silent for a moment until she sighs and takes the bowl of food. She takes a grateful sip and hums in content. “She’s fine,” Emma tells her and Ruby knows the difference between the fine and  _ fine _ . One could claim to be fine, meaning they are just in existence much like everyone else and then there’s fine when they really aren’t fine and they’re hiding all the pain and masking in with a smile or the other person. And that was what Regina was. She was  _ fine _ ...not fine. They were all aware of that and the nod of a head towards Emma means that Ruby gets it.

“Then that means we’re all  _ fine _ ,” she comments and Emma huffs.

“We are, but no one’s more fine than Regina at this point and you’re running a pretty close second.. at least Graham slept, you haven’t… you just passed out because of what happened, but you haven’t slept and I’ve been having nightmares, Cora hasn’t sat down not once and just breathed slowly because the second she’s released her daughter is admitted and Granny’s trying not to pick my brain because she knows… she knows how we all feel right now…”

“And how’s that?”

“Like shit,” Emma comments and Ruby actually laughs a bit unexpectedly at that. Emma cracks a smile and soon she’s laughing too. “Finish your food,” she continues with her smile and Ruby does so. Once she’s done with the bowl, she hands it back to Emma and lies down. Emma doesn’t even have time to take the bowl down and come back up because she hears Ruby snore lightly and hum contently in her sleep. Emma covers her up and turns down her blinds before locking the woman’s door and heading back downstairs. She plops once she’s at the base of the stairs and walks into the kitchen and whispers to Granny as she comes in, “She’s out,”

“I knew she would be.. All it takes is making sure she has a bowl of hot food, someone to talk to and put her at ease and her stress goes away for long enough that she can sleep..come, we’re cooking something new today,”

“What’s that?”

“Split pea soup sound interesting enough?”

“It does indeed,” the blonde smiled and Granny nodded at her.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

“Emma! Five more and that’s it,” Granny shouted from the back of the kitchen at the blonde shouted back,

“Got it!” It was nearing twelve at night and the final few stragglers that had come into the diner were finishing up the last of their meals. These were usually the people who worked the late shifts as security guards or at the office and just needed something to eat because it was likely they either lived alone or something. Others were people who just really liked to eat that late, Emma was learning and she couldn’t find it in her to hate the prospect of how their minds worked because if it fit, why not wear it? When a good handful had finished in the space of about a minute and were ready to exit, Emma walked them to the door and let them out, not realizing that was the entire rush of people who had exited. She’d began gathering dishes and stacking them before placing them on the bar counter and walking back to wipe down tables. She’d finished the majority of her work and somehow the bell above had clung melodically.

“Sorry, but we’re closed,” she announced to the stranger without looking away from the table and the person cleared their throat.

“I’m not here for food,” the person said. She concluded it was a man’s voice and as she looked up and over at the person, she squinted.

“Well, what did you come for?”

“A female that I’ve heard many talk about constantly,” he says and Emma’s heard speeds up slightly.

“Why?”

“Well, it seems I owe her a thank you,” he tells her and she looks so lost… a thank you? Why though?

“What for?”

“Saving someone very dear to me…” he trails off before walking closer and stretching out his hand. “Henry..Henry Mills,” he says and it clicks… Emma’s mouth goes dry for half a second there before she responds.

“Emma...Swan, Emma Swan,” she fumbles but manages to sound a bit sensible and his mouth opens slightly.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Feet are now shifting even closer to the blonde as the man speaks.

“Thank you, Miss Swan,” he says and she smiles though she doesn’t feel she should.

“I had to,” is what she tells him. “I had to make it stop,” is what she whispers and he catches it.

“And you did...thank you,” he repeats. “For finding her, for stopping him...just, thank you Miss Swan,”

“Just call me Emma,” she says and he nods.

“Emma,” he repeats as if tasting the familiarity on his tongue.

“How is she?” comes the question. “I’ve already been keeping up with Graham about it and I promised Ruby I’d let her know if anything changed..so, how is she now?” she asks after explaining her concern.

“Alive, breathing, blocking out pain,”

“So, she’s in denial,” Emma comments and he bobs his head left then right.

“I suppose most would call it that. I believe she’s just dissociating,”

“Is that something she normally does?”

“It is.. Regina’s..,”

“A bit different,” Emma offers and he nods.

“Precisely and more often than not, she’s-,”

“-Excluding her own trauma in her life and only focusing on the good so that no one worries about her?”

“Y-yes, how did yo-,”

“-I’ve been told I’m much the same. I don’t see it,”

“Neither does she,” he says and she nods. “I suppose this isn’t how you had intended to spend your first day here?”

“It’s not on my list of things to experience, not in the slightest, no,” she admits and that’s what’s true. Emma sighs lightly before picking up the cleaning supplies she’d been using. She puts them away before letting Henry sit and then she offers him a cup of coffee which he rejects.

“I find it only adds in speeding up my heart rate and not in a comfortable way either,” so she pours herself one and he tilts his head and looks at her. She shrugs as she sits and sips it.

“Helps me sleep,” she explains and he nods.

“We all have our ways,” he says and she hums.

“That we do,” Emma agrees. “When are they releasing her?”

“Could be today, could be tomorrow, could be weeks from now, but knowing her, she’s commanding to be released as we speak,” Henry smiles a bit at the thought.

“Sounds a lot like her,” Emma says with a tight smile.

“You know her a lot better in a handful of hours and days than it took me and her mother to learn her in years.. Her and our other daughter,”

“You have another child?”

“Regina has a sister, yes,” he says and she doesn’t comment, she merely thinks for a split second. “They look nothing alike,” he continues. “Except for maybe their noses.. And the sparkle in their eyes...their lips are rather similar as well, so are their ears,” he rambles on and Emma smirks.

“Are you sure they don’t look alike?” she questions him and he shakes his head quickly.

“Oh God no. Zelena’s a ‘ginger’ as your generation had put it, with blue eyes and she’s tall… you’ve seen Regina, she looks nothing like that,”

“No, she doesn’t… brunette, hazel eyes,”

“Exactly..and that’s something neither of them got from their mother or me,” he admits and Emma perks up in interest and a small smile.

“Who did they get it from?” she questions and Henry relaxes into the chair even more.

“Their biological parents,” he told her and her face folded up on him, but he didn’t seem the least bit phased by it.

“They’re..” she began only to stop herself from speaking. Henry nodded.

“They are,” he confirmed and Emma swallowed.

“They…” she pauses again.

“A-dop-ted,” he says slowly so that the word hits her mind properly.

“Adopted,” she whispers and he nods again. “Do they know?”

“Of course,” he says and she swallows once more. “You should be about the same age as her..we didn’t believe it made sense to not tell them...besides, she wouldn’t have know how to tell Noellia the same thing when her time came around-,”

“-WAIT! WHAT?!” Henry merely nods once again and Emma’s so lost. “Her too?”

“Yes.. It’s no secret and Regina isn’t embarrassed by it, but she’s unable to have children of her own and the suggestion was made even though she’d already had that idea in her head from the beginning. That sealed it for her.” Emma falls silent and Granny comes out and greets him. They talk like brother and sister and Emma just leaves them to their devices as she cleans up what’s left and then randomly she hears Henry speak, it’s in reference to her which she doesn’t catch right that second.

“She’s been asking for you,” he says and Emma’s obviously lost,

“I’m sorry?”

“She’s been asking for you,” he repeats.

“Who?” she questions because there could be any amount of shes who ask for Emma.

“Zelena. She wants to thank you for what you’ve done,” he informs her and Granny is now looking at her with a proud look even though she’s not really smiling. Emma falters badly on her response.

“Oh-I ummmm…. Mister Mills-I-um-she doesn’t have to-,”

“-Emma, please stop, you sound like a fish out of water. She wants to, so please just let her say thank you.. Everyone else but her has gotten the opportunity to do so and I think she’d like to see the face of the heroine that kept her sister from disappearing..again,” he trails off and Emma can’t tell him no because his face looks like Regina’s in that moment, even if they share no actual blood, she can quite clearly see the adopted look in the man’s eyes. So, she swallows back, takes off her apron and folds it before putting it away. Emma takes her hair down from the braid it was in and loosens the collar on her work shirt before cuffing the sleeves and loosening up her tucked in shirt.

“Okay,” is all she says before she smiles at the man and he breathes in relief.


	7. Several Thank Yous Part 1

Granny tags along, because that’s a thing that Granny does and it’s solely for the reason that she just hasn’t seen Regina as yet, either. They both ride in the car with Henry because Emma still hasn’t bothered to check on her bug or put gas in it.. or anything really. He checks them in once they reach the hospital and instantly Emma seizes on the spot. She doesn’t move for all of five minutes and Henry doesn’t really notice because he’s just trying to get back to his daughter. Granny does notice and she stops walking. She makes her way back over to the blonde and in the most flattest voice Emma thinks she’s ever heard, Granny says,

“Get it together and get in there.” It somehow snaps into Emma’s mind that she really needs to get it together and then she pauses, takes a breather and then she begins to walk again. She follows Granny and Henry towards the room and once they arrive, Henry’s already knocked and peaked inside. The only two people left awake are Regina and Noly at that point.

“Emmaaaa!” Noly says in an excited whisper, but Regina puts a finger to her lips and Noly blushes before quieting down. Regina kisses her daughter’s head before she turns and gives Emma a solemn smile as well. The blonde blushes and looks away.

“Hi,” Regina says with a bit of a smirk and Emma’s head tilts.

“hi,” she whispers quietly and now she’s smiling even more.

“She fell asleep not too long ago,” Regina says, now informing her father who is still stood in the doorway along with Granny, but Regina can’t quite see the woman at all. Her father nods before he speaks.

“I think it’s best if I take your mother home,”

“Please, she’s-,” she pauses to wince as she tries shifting in order to sit up. But she can’t move much because Noly is still laying on her as well and the added pressure just hurts way too much to move. Henry makes his way over and kisses her on the forehead and rubs the top of Zelena’s.

“Good night, Regina. Try not to move so much, I’ll take her home and call you to let you know we’ve made it in safe, okay?”

“Okay.. night, daddy,” she says to him and he nods before he walks towards his wife and gently wakes her from sleep. She looks dazed, as she should considering she hasn’t slept in days.

“Momma, can I go wif abby and nona?” Noellia questions quietly and Regina looks at her daughter with a raised brow.

“If you would like to.. Then yes, of course you can go, baby girl. Do you?” Noly nods. “Alright, go on then,” she says.

“Wait! Kisses mommy!” Noly tells her and she grins.

“Of course.”

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

“Are you just going to stand in the doorway or are you going to sit down?” Regina questions the blonde after her mother had kissed both hers and Zelena’s foreheads and grabbed a hold of Noellia to take her home with them. Emma kind of skitters on her spot before she moves and takes a seat and Regina can’t help but smirk at the woman’s obvious fear.. Or shyness. “Thank you,” she says.

“I had to,”

“You didn’t- but thank you,”

“I had to,”

“You didn’t-,”

“-yes I did!-”

“-Why?”

“Because!....because, because you have a daughter and a family,”

“Most people do.. Many women  and men have families and daughters and sons,”

“That’s not what I’m saying,”

“Then what are you saying?”

“I’m saying, you didn’t deserve that-any of the pain he caused you, that’s what I’m saying,” Emma answers and Regina’s silent.

“Okay,” Regina answers simply and Emma can tell that there is a clear cut indication, that particular discussion is over.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Zelena stirs awake and bats her eyes at the pair before her.

“What’s with all the tension?” she queries as she attempts to sit up. She rubs at her now swollen feeling eyes before they settle on Emma and then her head tilts. “Is that…” she trails off to look at her sister and Regina nods. Zelena shakes her head and squints in order to get a better view of the blonde woman who is sat there so awkwardly. It doesn’t help so she gets up and makes her way over to the woman. Emma eyes her strangely and Zelena eyes her right back, much less strangely, more so intrigued… She ten stretches out her hand and says,

 

“Zelena Mills, pleasure to meet you.”

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

“E-Emma.. Emma Swan-,” Emma manages before Granny interrupts her and Zelena.

“Wellll, look who’s awake!” Granny sings as she walks into the room with some food. Regina smiles brightly at the woman who makes her way closer to the hospital bed. “This trouble and pain of mine is back and you’re sittin’ up in some hospital bed grinnin’ at me,”

“I’ve been through worse,” Regina says smartly and Granny raises a brow.

“Yes and that’s why I invested in a rolling pin as a weapon. You look like hell, tiny tot,” Granny teased and Regina groaned at the use of the nickname.. “Zelena.. Where’s my hug?”

“Sorry-sorry…. Hi gran.. missed you,” she whispers in content before sighing happily against the woman as they embrace.

“I missed you too, my little helper.. How’ve you been?”

“SOOO tired.. It’s exam week and my lecturers are stressing us out because the board is stressing them out and the council is stressing the board...just…”

“Tired?” Granny questions knowingly and Zelena lets out a sigh and flashes a smirk.

“Very,” she answers with a laugh and Granny squeezes her a little tighter.

“Go sit down.. You and I will talk more tomorrow when you come in to help me with soup day,”

“Oh joy, how I’ve missed soup day,” Zelena wisecracks and Granny rolls her eyes at the young woman. Zelena kisses Granny’s cheek before she walks back over to Emma and they begin talking as Regina and Granny talk back and forth.

 

They all have their own respective conversations with one another until Granny yawns and takes that as cue.

“Emma.. don’t stay up too late, your shift starts in the morning,” she announces and the blonde looks embarrassed but for a different reason. Emma now takes that as her own cue to go and rises from her seat.

“I guess I probably should head out now, anyway,” she manages before hesitating at first. Regina smiles and nods at Emma, releasing all of the tension from earlier and Zelena nods as well. Emma is then walking over to Regina’s bed and leaning down to kiss the woman’s forehead. “Feel better, Regina,” she tells her before she disappears, not allowing either sister to stop her.

 

“You’ve always loved the strange birrrrds,” Zelena teases as she sings to her sister. She collapses beside her on the bed and pokes at Regina’s side and Regina shoves her.

“L-lena.. Up. Shut,” she smiles.

“Fine.. I give-I give. Still, did you know-”

  
  


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`

 

“Yes I knew that,” Regina answers with a sigh as Zelena rambles on and on about the common things she already knows about Emma.

“So I take it you know how she got here, then”

“Yeah, I know that too.. I was there, remember. Besides. Noly was the one who ran into her to begin with,”

“Hmm, okay, but did you know she wanted to be a pilot?”

“I-no.. Now that, I didn’t know,”

“Mhmmmm,” Zelena hums with a sinister smile. It was time to talk.

  
  


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~``

 

It’s nearly three days later and Emma hasn’t seen or heard from Regina or her family in the days prior. She’s seen Noly but Noly is the exception considering she has practice with the little girl and Graham. Emma doesn’t ask about Regina around her and Noly doesn’t bring up her mother, or her aunt or her grandparents. Graham doesn’t bring them up either. Instead the focus is on practice and their own little group. Emma has in essence also freaked over the kiss on many short moments over the course of the near three days and it’s no surprise to Ruby who picks up on the blonde’s distress considering Emma is terrible at hiding it anyway. It isn’t until Ruby badgers it out of the blonde that she realizes Emma is the reincarnate of a high schooler. Completely and utterly stressed over a peck on the forehead.

 

She doesn’t have time to stress much further when Regina randomly bumps into her. Well, technically it isn’t random considering Emma works at the diner and Regina wanted something to eat. She extends a dinner invitation to the blonde who immediately shoots it down in a nervous tremor but Regina can pick up on it so she tries to ease Emma’s mind and switches it to,

“How about lunch with me and Noly, then? She hasn’t stopped asking about you even though she’s seen you more times than I have,”

“Oh.. that’s so sweet. Umm.. yeah-yeah I can do that,” she nods all funny and nervous and Regina tries to smile at her but she’s giggling at Emma’s little nervous behaviour. “Where’s good for you?”

“My house… not the one where you found me. I have my own. Noly and I were just staying in there because my sister was off to school and my father was out on business.” Emma nods and Regina thinks she may have given too much away.

“Okay.. that’s cool. It’s actually a breath of fresh air….should I bring anything?” she asks with a grin and this grin is so much more relieved than everything before and Regina swoons.

“Just your smile,” she finds herself saying to the blonde in an almost airy tone.

 

_ Just your smile! Really.. Oh my God! Get it together Regina!  _ She belts to her inner self as she turns quickly and rushes from the diner.

  
  


“Did she just?”

“Ha.. no. No she didn’t,”

“But she said..”

“Emma.. no,”

“But how-,”

*ping*

Ruby laughs.

“That’s how,” she says and Emma throws her head back. Emma blushes as she reads over Regina’s message. “She’s so embarrassed,”

“Yeah, I noticed,”

“You’re still gonna go right?”

“Yeah, why not.. Just need to get something to wear. All my stuff is crap wear,”

“Let me guess, a bunch of t-shirts and jeans-,”

“-and sneakers,” Emma finishes.

“Yeaaaaah, you definitely need something new to wear. Even if it is just flannel,”

“Can you help me find something that makes me look a hell of a lot less homeless?”

“Now that, I most certainly can do,” she tells the blonde who smiles at her happily.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~

 

“Momma?”

“Yes baby,” Regina answers. Since she was released from the hospital, Noellia had made it her business to be around her mother and with her mother as much as she possibly could. The preschool Regina worked at had also excused and extended her time off to a week after learning of the incident. The whole town did. Leopold was still in holding-thank God, and Cora had assumed his position until votes were set to throw him out. And then replace him.

“What we gonna make for lunch wif Emma? She’d questioned and even though her mother’s thought about that already, she still doesn’t know.

“I’m not sure baby, what do you think? She questions as they walk down the sidewalk that was converted into a hopscotch path.

“Mac n Cheese!” she answers excitedly and skips down the path.

“Oh, really? Her mother says more so than she questions and Noly stops for a second with her skipping. She’s not a master at it to begin with, but she’s still pretty good.

“Uhuh,”she answers very sure before turning back to her path and skipping down it.

“Why do I get the feeling you’ve been thinking about this from… hmmm, forever ago?”

“Hehehehe cus.. I was,” Noly admits and she smiles before rolling her eyes at the little girl and her smart ways.

“Alright, then what kind of Mac n Cheese are we making?” Regina asks and Noly pauses to look at her mother almost as if in shock.

“Momma! Bacon!” she says as if Regina really should have known that and Regina can’t help but snicker.

“But what if Emma’s allergic to bacon,”

“She not,” Noly says sure and Regina looks intrigued.

“How do you know that, sweetie?”

“Cus.. I jus do, momma,” Noly tells her with a smile and Regina gives her a nod.

“Then what are we drinking?” she then asks, following behind the little girl who continues to hop and wobble her way down the path.

“APPLE JUICE!” Noly answers loudly and that’s due in part to her almost falling over just before her mother catches her.

“And dessert?”

“C-mmmm, Ice cream?”

“What kind sweetie?”

“Snickers?”

“Is that what you want?”

“Only if momma wants it too,” she tells her brunette mother who bends down and picks her up before she’s snuggling her and kissing her head.

“Momma wants whatever you want, baby girl,”

“Even sleepovers with Emma?”

“If she agrees and we get to know her a bit better, then yes, sleepovers with Emma can be a thing.”

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Emma’s nervous and that’s no surprise. She’d spent the better part of four hours internally freaking out, showering for about half an hour, freaking out externally.. Stuffing herself full of chips because of her nerves, going for a jog- only to realize she’d just showered and would have to shower again. Though, she supposes it isn’t so bad when you think about it. Ruby did help her with one thing even if she was there snickering at Emma biting her nails for most of her break and time off. Her outfit looks pretty comfortable and kick ass at the same time. Ruby stayed true to Emma’s country girl vibe and picked out a nice long sleeve linen and cotton blend shirt that had strings dangling at the neckline. It was billowing away from her frame, but still held shape and conformed to her skin. It kept her cool but made her look like the girl next door if she were to wear her hair in curls or flat ironed it.. Which, if she was being honest, she was gonna go with her natural messy curls.. Hell, it’d have to do since Emma was shit with flat ironing with her hair as it stood and still stands. She also bought the woman a new pair of jeans. Long, tight and dark wash, few holes around the pockets and inner thighs and then to top it off, a new combatting pair of near charcoal and ‘dirt brown’ boots, as Ruby described it.. She wasn’t far off, they were a hell of a lot more muddy looking that the original pair Emma usually wore.

“So much for my plaid,” she comments as she pulls the shirt over her head and smooths out the material. She shimmies into her jeans and sticks her feet in some socks- clearly mismatched and then shoves her feet into the now tighter pair of boots. She tucks her skinnies in properly and then adds dry shampoo to her hair before flipping it and nodding as if it were acceptable. There’s a rapt at the door and that signifies Ruby’s presence. Emma quickly gets to the door and yanks it open.

“Woah! You’re red,” she comments and Emma breathes out.

“I was doing the thing,”

“The thing?”

“Yeah, the hair flippy thing.. Probably just lost all the blood from my head or something..anyway.. How do I look?”

“You look… girly,” Ruby says and Emma flushes. “Calm down! Jeez.. you look good. Hell, you look better than good. You look happy… or are those your nerves?”

“Both. If it was just my nerves I’d be crying in a corner with a tub of Ben and Jerry’s.. Not that I can afford any of that just yet,” Emma states, almost as if recalling a memory.

“Dramatic much,” Ruby smirks as she rolls her eyes and Emma smiles a little at those words.

“If it wins me an Oscar, then yeah. I’ll be as dramatic as it I need to. If you’re gonna commit, do it all the way, right?”

“True.. alright then.. Sit down,”

“Why.. I have to get going,”

“You have half an hour- now sit!”

“Alright-Alright! Pushy!”

“You won’t be calling me that after I help you make less of an ass of yourself where Regina is concerned,”

“And just how are you going to do that for me?”

“Sit down and I’ll tell you,” she tells the woman who bobs her head as if to say-  _ right _ .

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  
  


_ Really, Ruby.. You give me one damn sentence and expect that to be my one and only way to prevent asininity in the front of Regina… How the hell is that even a rule of thumb? What kind of help is that- it’s just a cliche statement….  _

 

“Be yourself.”

 

_ How in the hell do I be myself, whilst dressed- clearly not like myself?! Whatever, maybe I’ll look less asinine dressed like this.. _

 

She did make it to Regina’s house door after following the directions and walking down the sidewalk, clearly spotting the hopscotch sidewalks Ruby told her she would be able to spot from at least a mile away considering how coloured it all was. Emma sighs as she turns the final corner and makes her way towards the steps.. Or rather-ramp? Up towards Regina’s front door.

 

_ I guess it’s time to find out. _

 

She knocks once and then again, and finally is about to knock a third time before the door swings open to reveal a not only flustered looking, but sweaty Regina. Her head tilts to the side for a second, clearly lost as to who Emma might be for a second, either that, or she’s wondering what the hell the woman is doing at her front door.

“Hi,” Emma speaks first and that prompts Regina’s mind into memory.  _ Lunch, dumb dumb _ . Regina swallows a shallow breath and speaks.

“h-hi, I must have lost track of time,” she tells the woman who shakes her head frantically.

“No, it’s okay. I’m actually kind of early anyway.. Umm- these are for you,” Emma says nervously before Regina becomes even more aware that the blonde has white carnations in her hand. Regina looks at them for a moment before taking them and smiling.

“Come in,” she says calmly and with a smile that Emma finds very easing. Emma follows behind and hears Regina say something about a drink, but she’s too busy looking around the rather colourful first floor.. At least, it seemed to be a two story home.

“huh,” she finds herself saying in response to what could have possibly been a question.

“I asked if you would like something to drink?”

“Oh-um, yeah.. Do you have any tea?”

“I do,” Regina answers just before she exits.. Emma hears little feet speed through and dash across the hardwood flooring. They come to an abrupt halt and then words come in the form of a loud shriek.. Or at least, one word.

“MOMMY!” she yells and Regina’s in the room in seconds, clearly panicked not for herself, but for her daughter and Emma.

“Sweetie, what’s wrong!?” Regina questions as she looks around the room, not seeing a Christ thing out of place. Noellia points to the blonde,

“Emma here!” she says happily and Regina sags on her spot. Her head droops as the name-

“ _ Noellia _ ,” slips from her mouth and it’s chilling, which is why the child quickly runs towards the couch and hops into it, burying herself between Emma and the cushions. Emma is shocked by the actions and tries to help? Or something.

“I know momma!” she mutters a yell from her hiding spot on the couch. “I did a no no,” she continues and Regina shakes her head.

“Baby girl, what did I momma about panic shouting?”

“Only for ‘mergency,” Noly continues to mumble and her mother sighs.

“Come here, sweetie,” she says and her daughter obeys. She bends down and picks the little girl up and sets her on her hip. “I have to go take a shower. Do you think you can stay down here and keep Emma company for me and watch the mac n cheese?” Noly nods. “Okay, thank you sweetie,” she smiles and Noly almost smiles. “Noellia?”

“Yes momma?”

“What’s wrong, mija?”

“Momma mad at me,”

“Baby, I’m not mad. You scared me and I thought something happened,”

“ Somethin’ bad?”

“Yes, baby, something bad,”

“Sorry momma,”

“Baby girl, no. Don’t say sorry. Momma’s just worried about you a lot,”

“But-bu-,”

“-Noly- it’s okay baby,” she repeats before hugging her.

“M-momma,”

“Shhh baby,” she coos, after she manages to calm her down. Noly’s then back at Emma’s side with the tv on.

  
  


“Emma?”

“Yeah, kid,”

“Do you like mac n cheese?”

“It’s my favourite food,”

“Really?”

“Yep. My dad used to make it for me every Friday night when I was younger,”

“Did him put bacon in it?” Emma scrunches up her face in thought.

“Mmm, not that I remember, why?”

“Cus, momma puts bacon in hers.” Emma looks intrigued by this.

“She does?”

“Uhuh and swish cheese.” Swish?.. Swi-ohhhh-  _ swiss _ .

“Sounds like I gotta try this mac n cheese, kid,” Emma tells her and just before Noly can respond, there’s a beep that indicates the food is finished.

“We gotta get it!,” is all Noellia says aloud before she’s scrambling from the couch and about to dash toward the kitchen.

“Hold it,” Emma says and the child pauses. “Slow it down, lil lady.. Get what?”

“Da mac n che-eeese!” Noly says with a bit of urgency.

“Ahh, but I didn’t hear you ask,” Emma says with a smirk, but Noly isn’t smirking and soon, the blonde’s own fades. Noly huffs before she asks,

“Emma, can we go get the mac n cheese now.. Please!”

“Alright, sure kid. Let’s go… only cus you asked though.”

 

They make their way into the kitchen and Noly quickly gets some kitchen towels and shoves them into Emma’s hands. Emma prepares them by folding them and making sure they won’t slide some weird way and cause her to burn herself.. Not that her clumsiness wasn’t a massive factor to begin with.

“Well, now I see why you were panicking over the mac n cheese.. This damn thing doesn’t have dials,” Emma commented lowly but she’s almost positive the child heard her. Still, she takes the food from the oven and sets it down on the cloth that’s atop the counter. Emma then hears the drawer open and close and the clatter of utensils before Noly’s tapping her arm and putting forks into her hand. She watches the child grab her stool and slide it up to the counter and prepare herself. “What are these for?”

“We have to taste it,” she says simply and Emma looks so lost. “Momma says we always have to taste it when it’s done cus then you know if you wanna eat it still,” she says further and Emma juggles that around in her head.

“But it’s hot,”

“So.. momma says it’s da best time to eat it, cus den you know if it good.” 

 

Couldn’t argue with that logic.

 

“Okay, kid. You got me there.. So, what part do you want?”

“mm-Corner!.. I like the crusties,” she tells the blonde and Emma laughs.

“Crusties, huh?”

“Yup,”

“Okay- but first, we gotta blow on it cus it is reaaaally hot. Got it?”

“Got it!” Noly answers happily. Little did either of them know, Regina’s been watching them form the doorway. They’re both taking their second bites and grinning at each other, oblivious to the brunette leant up against the doorframe.

 

“I take it by the way you both can’t speak, it’s good?” she interrupts and Emma spins around, fork still in hand and chewing until she swallows. She nods, sheepishly.

“How was your shower?” she asks the brunette who’s now wearing a simple tee and a pair of jean shorts. She’s barefoot and her hair is still damp and face is devoid of makeup.

“Good,” she exhales deeply. She puts a hand to the back of her neck and rubs as her neck contorts, clearly showing the pain in the way her face scrunches up. Emma takes that as well as the faded bruising into mind before she speaks.

“Something wrong?”

“Hmm?”

“I was asking if something was wrong.. With your neck,”

“Mm- just a bit sore,”

“Want a massage?” Emma blurts her question before she actually flails like a cartoon character at her own word formation., “I-I mean.. .. I don’t mean anything by it. I was just offering to in case you needed someone to help,”

“I’ll keep that in mind.. Thank you..are you hungry?”

“Not really, guess it’s my nerves,”

“Why are you nervous?” she questions and Noly answers before Emma can formulate a plausible answer.

“She thinks you pretty momma,” Noellia says and Emma flounders. Regina hides a smirk and asks,

“She does?”

“Uhuh- super pretty,”

“Really?” she questions again and now she’s looking at Emma.

“I-I no,”..

“So.. you  _ don’t _ think I’m pretty?”

“I mean.. Yeah-umm,” she continues to flounder and Regina laughs. “B-but I didn’t tell her that,” she clarifies and Regina nods.

“You didn’t have to,”

“But how did she know that?” Emma now questions because she can’t lie about it anymore.

“She’s four. Children her age are perceptive..and honest. Brutally so, but that’s the price they pay because they haven’t learned that some people are sensitive where they need filters.”

Silence for a moment.

“Don’t think about it too much,”

“How can I not?” the blonde questions and Regina pushes off the doorpost.

“Easy. Come help me take up lunch and eat with me and my daughter,” the brunette offers as solution. Emma agrees silently and Regina nods at her. “Could you get me a few things from the fridge?” she questions the blonde before she spins to face her and looks at Emma with ..an almost blank expression.

“S-sure, what do you need?”

“Lettuce, tomatoes, spinach…” she trails off.

“Onions too momma!” Noly reminds and Regina smiles. 

Emma just does as Regina asks of her and watches the way mother and daughter work to make a salad for their lunch.

“Would you like to help us finish?” Regina asks the staring blonde. Emma nods dumbly and walks over. She carefully works with Regina and Noly and realizes, Regina’s not necessarily the anal person she believed her to be. “Hmm?” Regina questions and it takes Emma from her trance.

“I’m sorry?”

“It’s just, you mumbled something about being too anal about things, or something like it….help me set the table,” she says instead and Emma gives another dumb nod. Regina puts the plates in her hands. “Follow me,” she commands and Emma does so.

 

Once the table is set, they sit and eat. Granted, it is blatantly clear to Regina and probably Noly that Emma is a mess of nerves because she either jitters on the spot, fumbles when she answers or flat out forgets what she’s said and it has both mother and daughter not only feeling sorry for her, but snickering at her nervousness because in all honesty, it’s very endearing. After lunch is had and the dishes are washed up, the three settle onto the couch and after a while, both Emma and Noly doze off and Regina takes the time to call Graham and do some more housework.

“Hello?” the man answers and Regina smiles.

“You know who it is,” she says to him because she can hear the slight bit of joking in Graham’s voice.

“I’m sorry I don’t know who a ‘Gina’ is.. I know a Regina, but not a Gina,” Graham says and Regina rolls her eyes. He hears Regina groan at him and he laughs. She hates that nickname and any time Graham or Ruby or really anyone decides they wanna get on her case, they use that nickname. “Alright sourpuss. Sorry, what did you call for,”

“Just to check in really.. And to ask what Ruby or you may have done to Emma,”

“Wait, Emma’s there?”

“Yes, she’s here.. Lunch, remember- since I also learned your goddaughter and you told her that her best bet would be lunch, anyway,”

“Yeeeaaaah, about that- we didn’t actually say anything to her. She was freaking out way before that. Noly and I were just trying to calm her down because she wouldn’t. Still, how’s it going?”

“Good, surprisingly.”

“So, she’s not a nervous wreck anymore then?”

“She was, but now she’s a nervous sleeping wreck.. I’m convinced Noly took the majority of that energy from her,”

“Talked her to death, huh,”

“You have no idea,” Regina laughs and so does Graham.

“Where is she anyway?”

“She’s down for the count, too. It was nearing nap time anyway. Hopefully they’ll both be out for a bit, that way I can get some more work done,”

“Some more? Regina, what work?”

“Well, the syllabus for the school has to be redone seeing as I’m out and technically my students are behind a little bit. Then I have to figure out something for Zelena and Noly because Lena’s schedule is all up in flames-,”

“- not literally I hope,” Graham jokes and Regina rolls her eyes but smirks.

“No, thankfully that’s not the case.. And then I have to call my parents and see where they fall with things because they will want to have some sort of family dinner and then thank Emma with dinner and blah blah. Then there’s you and Ruby and Belle and keeping Noly and that’s a lot and then there’s the office and all of that and I just-,”

“-Regina, woah..slow down alright.. That’s all the things you shouldn’t be doing right now, or at all for that matter,”

“But I have to,”

“You honestly don’t,”

“Graham…” she says and it’s nearly whining.

“ _ Regina _ ,” he reprimands and she simpers. “You should be resting,”

“I can’t,”

“You can, you just don’t want to,”

“I don’t,” she says and he laughs.

“I know you don’t,”

“Graaaaaaaahaaaaammm,” she whines.

“Why can’t you actually relax?”

“Because, if I do then I’m prone to think and if I think-he comes to mind… I don’t want to think about a man who I’ll eventually have to face in court. I just want distraction,” the woman tells him.

“Regina, you’re what- 24- 25, what do you know about distraction?”

“I’m…,” she mumbles her age, “ for your information and I know quite a lot Graham. I just want mental quiet. I want peace of mind and I want to just be and as contradicting as this is going to sound and will forever sound,” she takes a momentary pause… “I need to be busy to have quiet.”

 

And now he’s quiet.

 

“I get it,”  he says and more than likely he does get it. In some odd way, Graham has always been able to understand Regina and that’s what she loved about him.. Then again, it’s also why he acted like her older brother or pretty much her father any time Henry was away on business.. Leave it to anyone and they’d have assumed Cora married two men.

“She’s snoring on my couch,” Regina comments after a moment and Graham laughs.

“She’s still tired. Ruby told me she put in an early shift and an extra one for today.. which she spent panicking and obsessing over when it came to you.”

“But she doesn’t even know me,”

“All the more reason to worry,”

“Pfft more like less reason.. Still, it’s very sweet of her. She didn’t have to,”

“That’s not what she’s been telling the rest of us.”

  
  


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

It’s a good while later and by good while, nearly night time again. Emma wakes to the smell of food cooking and that pretty much knocks the sleep from her eyes as she follows the scent into the kitchen to find Regina stood at the stove, humming away. The tune is vaguely familiar but she doesn’t have the time to figure it out because she’s too concerned with what’s cooking. As she continues to watch, Regina speaks.

“How did you sleep?” she asks and Emma answers her very calmly considering she couldn’t jumped at the voice when in all honesty she didn’t expect Regina to hear her.

“Pretty good,” she tells her and Regina hums.

“Mmm, I figured- even if you did almost kick me in the face for trying to remove your shoes.” Emma groans as Regina laughs at her.

“I am sooo sorry about that.. I just… no one really touches me whilst I sleep,”

“Seems you’ve barely let anyone touch you at all if you curled up that way when I took your shoes off,”

“Sure it wasn’t just my conscience being afraid to knock you out with my foot funk,”

“Ha. Trust me when I say, you do not have ‘foot funk’,”

“August tends to disagree with me on that one,”

“August?”

“Yeah.. he’s like my brother but not my brother. We pretty much grew up together..so, what’s cooking?”

“I’m not sure yet,” Reigna answers honestly and Emma blanches.

“Then what the heck was that I was smelling?”

“Reheated pasta I made yesterday,” Regina answers before she points blindly with her thumb over at the bowl. “Would you like some?”

“You’d really give me your bowl of pasta?”

“It’s not as if I can’t make another batch.. Go on, eat, you seem hungry- frequently,” Regina jokes and Emma blushes because-

“It’s true. You eat it though,” she tells the woman and Regina kind of shrugs.

“I don’t really want it anymore.. Not much of an appetite,”

“Why?”

“Because.. I don’t know.. I suppose your grandfather’s image is killing every cell in my body without even having to be here,” she says and then she sighs out a heavy breath.

“Well, go lie down then. I’ll call Granny’s and ask her to fix something up and get Ruby to deliver it,” Emma tells her and when she gets lip from Regina on that, she shakes her head and tells her, “You already look pale enough as it stands.. So go sit, lie down and let me order something for you and the kid to eat. You need to eat and so does the kid.” Regina smirks but she adheres to Emma’s command and once she’s lying back in the couch, she speaks again.

“Noellia,” she says and Emma is confused.

“Huh?”

“Her name.. It’s Noellia. At the risk that you keep calling my daughter ‘the kid’, her name is Noellia.” Regina says a little more clearly and then she feels when Emma collapses into the couch right where her feet end and then Emma is putting her feet into her lap and begins to rub the woman’s ankles. Regina hums in appreciation even though this might be a little bit too far forward with where they stand.. or- sit.

“Can I ask why your tv is in a completely different room,”

“Hmm?”

“Your tv, it’s in a different room. Why?”

“Open floor plan. Dining, living and sitting are only ‘separated’ by dividers but the kitchen is completely on its own. Then there’s the upstairs or the random room up there and the ‘back’ part, if you could even call it that.,”

“Mm. I’m just realizing that was a very random question,”

“Well,” Regina sighs as she shifts. “You’ve been skittish and weird, but I suppose it isn’t all bad considering I’m much the same,”

“First off,” Emma begins before tickling the bottom of Regina’s feet and earning herself a swat to the arm. “ Mean much. And second, true. Very true. My only disagreement is you saying we’re the same.. We really aren’t. You’re not even close to weird,”

“You don’t even know me that well,”

“I know you enough and that’s all I need to go on,”

“Then that’s bias,”

“Well then I’m bias,” Emma rolls her eyes and Regina smirks.

“I suppose you are.”

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Noly wakes about an hour later, just in time to catch a kid’s movie and then have dinner with her mother and Emma.

“You are staying, right?” Regina asks the blonde. “You did order dinner and it wouldn’t be nice of me to expect you to leave after that.” Emma just looks like usual Emma. Deer in headlights.

“Emmaaaaa, you gotta staaaay!” Noly belts and pouts as she looks the blonde dead in the eyes. Emma caves and then she gets down low enough to rush at Noly and tackle her with tickles. She picks up the squealing girl and nuzzles her.

“If I have toooo,” she says as if she doesn’t want to when it’s clear she doesn’t mind in the slightest.

“Good!” Noly says in finality. She just gives in and allows Emma to tote her around like she’s a parcel and Regina shakes her head at the pair as she takes up their food from the takeaway diner. “Emma?”

“Yeah Noellia,” she answers as she sits in the couch with the little girl and then she sees the instant face change in the little girl. Noly scrunches up her face as Emma looks at her in confusion. “What’s the matter? She questions and the little girl just continues to scrunch up her face. Regina sets Emma’s food before her and rest Noly’s in her lap as well when the little girl scrambles to sit up straight. She then rests their juice on the table and speaks.

“She doesn’t like that name,”

“What do you mean she doesn’t like it? It’s her name,”

“Just because it’s her name, it doesn’t mean she actually has to like it,”

“But still.. Why?”

“Because-,” Regina begins before Noly interrupts

“-Because, Emma mad,” she says and Emma’s face falls. She looks up at Regina and Regina tilts her head and holds in a sigh. Emma then gets up out of the chair, rests her food down and does the same with Noly’s. She cups the child’s chin in her hand and looks her dead in the eyes, or as much as she could, anyway.

“Hey little lady,” she coos and Noly folds in her bottom lip. 

“I’m not little,” she tries to defend and sounds so much like something Regina would say. Emma smiles just a little bit.

“I’m not mad, kiddo,” she lets her know. “I tell ya what..you tell me what nickname your mommy usually calls you and I’ll call you that,” she questions the little girl. Noellia doesn’t respond, in any manner. Emma sighs. “Ya killin’ me here, kid,” she jokes and Noly panics, clearly taking it seriously..

“DON’T DIE! MOMMA! HELP!” she continues to panic and Regina laughs.

“Sweetie.. She’s not dying… she’s okay, but what’s not okay is you not answering Emma.. what did momma say about that?”

“Is rude,” she concludes. “Sorry Emma,” she mumbles and Emma smiles.

“It’s okay, kid.. Now, do you think you could tell me what nickname your mommy calls you?”

“Nope,” Noly says and Emma looks lost.

“Why?”

“Cus, thas mommy’s name for me. And you can’t call me Ray, neither…”

“Cus it’s what your goddy Ruby calls you, right?”

“Uhuh, and uncle Graham…”

“Okaaaaayyy, hmmm. How about.. Ellia?.. Or Elli? Do you like those?”

“Mmmm, I like Elli more,”

“Okay, then I’ll call you Elli, good?”

“Good!” Noly grins.

“Alright then… you think we can get your mommy to come sit with us and eat then?”

“Mmm, momma, come eat.. Pweeeeeaaaase,” Noly ‘begs’ because she knows just how to turn her mother into pudding.. or putty, whichever sound the least bit like poop. Her mother bops her on the nose and she giggles.

“I’m onto you, little one.. But I’ll eat,” she concedes and gets herself some food. She sits on the end and Noly just happens to fit perfectly in the middle of the two women.

“Sooo,” Emma begins. “What are we going to watch?”

“Lion King!” Noly shouts loudly and both the women snicker.

“The Lion King?”

“One and  half,” Regina says in correction and Emma breathes in relief.

“Good, because… can’t handle Mufasa kicking the bucket in the front of the kid.. I’m an ugly crier,” Emma admits and when Regina laughs Emma looks confused. “What?”

“You.. you won’t kick the habit of calling her ‘the kid’ any time soon, will you?” she questions and the woman blushes.

“Sorry,”she apologises and both the brunettes smile at her but Nolys speaks up.

“I like it.. But shhh, moofie on,” Noly tells both of them before putting a little finger to her lips. Emma rubs the top of her head and looks over at Regina who seems to be lost in the image before her.

“You okay?” she asks and Regina nods a little dazed.

“I am, it just.. Everything feels..perfect,” she admits and Emma feels her heart speed up at the admission.

“It does?”

“Yes, it really does… thank you,”

“Don’t.. I guess you just feel okay enough to be at ease,”

“I am, but I haven’t had this feeling since..since.” She stops completely and Emma leans forward so that her eyes find Regina’s.

“Regina?” she questions and when Regina doesn’t answer,s he waves a hand before her, only to have Noly shove it out the way because.. You know, her moofie is on. “Regina?” she calls again and this time the woman looks at her, on the verge of answering but Emma shakes her head. “Another time,” she tells her and Regina nods, still very dazed.

“Another time,” she repeats but her tone is seemingly lost all life to it.

  
  


Emma does end up staying the night and it’s solely because of Noly.. at least, that’s what she lets the little girl and her mother believe. Truth be told, it’s because of both mother and daughter and her feeling the exact same thing as Regina where everything just felt.. Perfect. Regina offers her bed as a place for Emma to sleep because she claims the couch is painful as hell, and she would know that considering she’s fallen asleep in the blasted thing on more occasions than one. Emma at first tries to make it sound like she can’t stay because of work but Regina tells her she already knows the woman will be off the day after so that’s not a reason and Emma laughs because it fit all too well. Regina has her number and it has Emma in stitches. She asks the brunette if she’s stalking her and realizes that the way Regina’s eyes blast open, it means that definitely has her feeling nervous that Emma thinks she’s this massive stalker.. Or something.. Probably the something and not the stalker. So, damage control. She puts the woman at ease… or at least some version of ease and then they’re back to talking about Emma staying the night. She gives in, but she gives in and shares Regina’s bed with her because Noly’s is much too small for Regina to fit in with her daughter and she is not about to screw up Emma’s back over some cushions- or her own for that matter. They agree to treat it like a sleepover kind of thing considering that’s how Noly practically sees i So, Emma definitely sleeps there and Regina loans her something. It’s a t-shirt and a pair of track shorts and that’s good enough because they’re comfortable. At first, the blonde can’t and doesn’t sleep because she’s in the bed with Regina and she’s immediately aware that Regina’s still awake. She’s not unnerved by the fact that she’s in Regina’s bed and it’s clear that Regina is the exact same way. It’s just the simple feeling of ‘Oh dear God.. do I make conversation, or ignore her and try to force my eyes to stay shut?’ But she gets an answer for that when Regina says,

“This is weird,” and that has her laughing.

“God, thankfully you said it… this is weird,”she repeats and Regina hums. “Wanna talk?”

“Do you?”

“Honestly, yeah. It’ll probably keep me from thinking you wanna throttle me from the bed or something,” she jokes and listens as Regina snickers at her side. Emma smiles and turns on her side, noticing Regina’s already laying on hers. “hi,” she whispers with a smile and Regina copies her smile and greeting.

“hi.” 

“So… what do we talk about?”she asks with a cheeky grin.

“I’m not sure. I actually thought you’d be the one to create conversation,”

“Pfft, never think I can do anything functional like that- ow!” she shrieks almost quietly and it’s because Regina had swat her arm.

“Stop downplaying your abilities,” Regina scolds and Emma scowls playfully at her.

“It’s true though-ow-ho-howwwww!” Emma bellows just a bit louder than the last time. “Hey, cut it out! I’m not a punching bag and your daughter is asleep, if you don’t want me waking a four yeat old, I suggest you stop hitting me-eeee!” she bellows again because Regina’s hardheaded and risk taking to swat her once more. “I don’t know if I like you anymore-,”

“- Of course not.. You love me,” Regina says smartly and even in the darkness she can see the blonde turn the brightest shade of red. She rolls her eyes because she’s almost positive she can clearly hear Emma’s mind cogs rusting over for a response. “Relax, Emma,”

“Can’t,”

“And why not?”

“Because..because.. Nevermind,”

“Thought so,” Regina responds smartly. Emma prods her side and she flinches. “Stop,” she warns but that falls on deaf ears as Emma prods her side again. “Emma. Stop,” she enunciates but Emma’s shit eating grin says that she will do otherwise. So on the third and finally prod to her side, it’s a full on flinch into giggling into laughing because Emma decides to tickle the brunette. It is a merciless five minutes of pure enjoyment for Emma and gasping pleasure for Regina until there’s a knock to the door and they freeze. Emma looks at Regina who looks right back at her and then the knock comes again and it’s Emma who pretty much launches herself from the bed and quickly makes her way over to the bedroom door and opens it. At first glance, she sees no one, that is until a little figure walks right into her and grabs hold of her shirt before mumbling something,

“Ni’mare,” into the woman’s leg. She takes stock that it is Noly and wastes no time in picking the little girl up before walking over to the master bed where Regina’s now rising to turn on the bedside lamp and prop some pillows up against the headboard. Noly doesn’t know or care who it is that picks her up, just so long as it is someone who does. Emma eases Noly onto the bed and watches as the child crawls over her mother and towards the middle of the bed before climbing under the blanket and burying herself in it. Emma gives Regina a look of utter lost and Regina smiles sadly at her. She shakes her head when she sees Emma motion to the door as if to ask if she should leave them alone. Emma nods and says nothing, but instead climbs into the bed on the other side and gets herself comfortable under it too. She waits a beat and even though she’s entirely sure this isn’t her place to mother a child she barely even knows, she can’t keep her mouth close. So she climbs under the blanket where Noly is hiding and has a quiet conversation with her.. well, as quiet as she can manage because then is when she asks,

“You had a nightmare?” and that child nods but continues to hide under the blanket. “Was it the boogeyman?” she continues to question and Noly shakes her head. “Was there a monster in the closet?” Another shake of the head. Emma makes a thinking face and finds that in the short amount of silence, Noly has emerged from her hiding spot under the blanket. She follows suit and watches the child’s interactions with things. Her eyes aren’t focused on anything in particular, which confuses Emma, but is clearly normal to the child’s mother. She continues to make that thinking face and Regina just watches their interaction, oddly surprised at the way Noly has become this open with Emma so quickly. “So. No boogeyman and no monster in the closet,” she begins and Noly shakes her head- so the blonde thinks some more.. “Hmmmm, was it me?” she questions and Noly gives a little sheepish grin. Emma makes a silly face at the child and continues their… ‘conversation’ “I know I’m pretty scary looking on a good day- especially when I’m just waking up, but you sure you didn’t see me?” she asks and if her smile was anything to go by, Noly went by that. The four year old audibly giggled and Emma lunged at her, tickling her much like she’d done with the child’s mother earlier. Noly squeals in delight as Emma continues her assault and Regina just pulls out a book that was in the bedside table drawer. The brunette flips through the book and finds both the folded and marked off page where she’d last stopped and begins to silently read the continuing passage.

 

Once Emma feels she’s gotten the fright out of the little girl, she settles back into her spot and waits to see what both mother and daughter do next. She’s pleasantly surprised when Noly snuggles up under her mother’s arm and asks her where they are in their story. She’s even more surprised that it’s from Harry Potter and not just a general kid’s book that most parents tend to have on command. Emma was never one for Harry Potter, or the Hunger Games or anything remotely close to that; and she’d be lying if she said she could tell you who any of the dwarves were in The Hobbit or identify anyone past Gandalf- correction, Gandalf the Great, couldn’t forget that piece and Frodo or Bilbo Baggins. So, in all her years of awe- this one took the cake that a four year old was listening to her mother read Harry Potter and somehow she could tell that Noly understood what was being read to her. She decided she may as well lay on the kid and listen in on the story too and it was no surprise when the child giggled once again at feeling Emma’s head snuggle into her. Regina just rolled her eyes playfully and pushed her glasses up the expanse of her nose. 

It’s a good bit into the story and Emma has learned… absolutely nothing about Harry Potter except for his lightning bolt scar and even that sounds a little stupid to her. Why couldn’t it have been Oliver Twist where she at least kinda-sorta knows a bit of the story. Like his dead mother and big ole Mister Bumble. Anything would work because she would know more than she did with this book that looked like it was five books in one.

It’s also a good while later that Emma does in fact notice the black rimmed spectacles on the smaller woman’s face and finds herself commenting on them without thinking.

“I didn’t know you wore glasses,” Emma says to her and Regina pauses her reading to look down at Emma’s wide eyes. She swallows before answering.

“Most people don’t,” she tells her and Emma is curious.

“Why?” she queries and Regina shrugs.

“Because I only ever wear them in the office or when I’m in the comfort of my own home. My optometrist knows, clearly; and so do my parents, my sister, Noly- Graham, Ruby, Granny and now- you, but everyone else assumes my vision is twenty- twenty,”

“So… what do you have?”

“Minor myopia and astigmatism,” she answers flippantly.

“That sounds-,”

“-bad. I know. It’s manageable and I do have contacts, which is another reason why most people don’t know,”

“I don’t think you should hide it, if I’m allowed to be honest,”

“Hmm?”

“I said, I don’t think you should hide it. It’s what makes you.. You. It’s what makes you unique and different from most other people.. Besides, I think it kind of suits you, the pretty nerd look fits your face and your attitude. It doesn’t take anything away from you and it doesn’t add anything either because you’re already you and in all honesty, I’d think you were a pretty nerd even if you didn’t have the glasses on,”

“Why would you still assume that?”

“Because you read Harry Potter to your four year old and I’m almost positive she wasn’t the one who picked it, especially considering the wear and tear that’s on it,” Emma tells her and Regina blushes. “I don’t know much- if anything at all about the story, but I can tell you one thing… you’re the pretty nerd and in my eyes- they’re always beautiful.. and clumsy,” she adds at the end and Regina pinches her which causes her to hiss out a laugh.

“You. Are a pain,” Regina tells Emma as she turns back to begin reading the story once again.

“A lovable one, though,”

“I beg to differ,” Regina says smartly and Emma scowls.

“Mean much,”

“Well aware,” Regina answers back in a sass ridden tone. A light snore stops their bantering and they both look down to see that Noellia is pretty much dead to the world in a peaceful slumber. Emma smirks as she watches the steady rise and fall of the child’s chest and then she looks up at Regina who is now putting the book away to then rearrange Noly’s position so that they can sleep. Emma shimmies over and gives as much space to the middle as possible before Regina centres her daughter and then rearranges her own spot before turning the lights off and getting comfortable. They’re back in that nightly silence and this time it isn’t awkward, it isn’t weird,it isn;t anything but some night-time silence which soon wins out and both women succumb to sleep.

  
  


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

There’s no blaring sound, there’s no birds singing, there’s nothing but a dead silence as Emma wakes in the early 5 am mist of the morning and squints at the sun and it’s offending rays of life giving. Last night was a night she enjoyed wholeheartedly because she has no idea when last she ever had a night like that where she freaked out about a pretty woman, met the pretty woman’s daughter in record time of coming to town and was convinced to just spend the night because said pretty woman trusted her enough to let her in. 

Emma has no idea when she ever even freaked over a woman as pretty as Regina. She’s almost positive she never even freaked out over a woman who didn’t look like Regina. Who wasn’t even as remotely interesting as Regina. As nice and caring and sweet and all the good things-as Regina. Emma doesn’t think she ever even thought of anyone in depth the way she has with Regina and in such a short period of time too. And she’d be lying if she said Regina’s bed didn’t feel soooo much better than the one at the B&B, even though that one was pretty soft as well. She’d also be lying if she said that in the most strangest way, sleeping by Regina wasn’t so much more comforting than sleeping by herself in a room at the B&B because for some reason, it felt the same as when she’d sleep over at August’s place or Aurora or even Mulan’s. It just felt like.. a home. Noly was an added bonus to that as well because it was clear she was her mother’s child, but she and Emma had their own little bonding time and Emma thinks that the kid was and is pretty damn cute, even if she thinks that about most children. Emma perches up on her elbow and sweeps her long hair from her face as she looks at both mother and daughter laying in an identical pattern. Their beautifully dark hair is splayed out in their own directions, Noly’s covering most of her face and Regina’s tucked just slightly behind her ear. The soft rise and fall of their chests move in tandem and as she watches, she smiles and that smile becomes almost.. cosmic.

She grins to herself at the thought of how simple it all became with just a few words and actions, and then finds herself daydreaming about a future with the woman asleep in bed next to her along with Noellia because once you get into a relationship with someone.. it’s the same for their child- but then, she pauses. She pauses because she feels she’s thinking and jumping the broom when there is no broom to jump, and she’s thinking too far ahead when there’s nothing ahead for her, and that’s as far as she will assume. She shakes her head and internally scolds herself for thinking that way, especially in the woman’s home. Why did she think that Regina would be the least bit interested in wanting to be with her? Why would Regina want to date the offspring of a rapist? Hell, why would she just wanna date Emma?! Clumsy, can never stick to a plan-except this asinine one- can never keep up with something she starts and never has a life goal to get anywhere or be something because even at twenty five, the blonde doesn’t know who the fuck she is… Why would she think Noly would be okay with her dating her mommy? Would Graham approve? Would Ruby approve-shit, would Regina’s immediate family approve?

She puts a tired hand to her eyes and rubs them until she’s almost positive they can take the brightness once she releases her pupils to the world. She sniffs an inhale and sighs an exhale before attempting to move, but as she tries to, she feels a light latch that’s onto her lower abdomen and that gives her pause. Emma tries to shift to figure out what the hell that is but fails as the grip tightens. She gives in and whatever, or rather, whoever is holding onto her finds and sees reason with Emma being stability when they sleep. After a good while of giving in, Emma is antsy in her position and really feels the need to get up, so she does. She’s not very surprised that the grip is still there, but she decides that she may as well figure out who the hell is holding on to her so tightly. 

Turns out it’s Noly and the little girl’s sleeping frame still finds a way to bury herself into Emma’s stomach. Emma smiles and shifts in a way that she can lift the child out of bed with her before she feels little arms and legs grasp on tightly to her as she walks through Regina’s room and opens one of the curtains. The sun isn’t as offending as it usually is by this time and she revels in that . She figures she could do some exploring and learn about the ‘backyard’ Regina had made reference to the day before. Carefully and smoothly, Emma walks out of the room and through the kitchen, into the yard-with Noly still firmly holding onto her and her holding on to the child in her arms. She’s not sure if she and Regina were seeing the same thing or if Regina was seeing anything at all, but in her experience of looking...that backyard..was massive. It was big enough that Emma’s not sure she knew where it ended. It didn’t look like it was gated off either, frankly- none of the homes there seemed to be gated off and that meant that the kids- or even the adults who lived in those homes, had never ending backyards. Besides, it wasn’t like her backyard led to a cliff or had a cut off point that looked dangerous. Noly stirs in her arms, but other than that, the child remains asleep, which makes Emma sighs happily to herself before going into Regina’s kitchen and setting the coffee maker the woman had available. She gets herself a small cup of juice for the time being and finds that there’s food she can cook as breakfast in case Noly wakes up. It’s not something that surprises her or comes as a strange thing for her to do because after her mother told her she was pregnant, Emma pretty much raised Neal until she moved out and moved in with Auggie and the rest of her friends. Dealing with Noly was no different because Neal at this age was much like her. Excited about the little things, aware of when they did a no no. Very smart and extremely well behaved… most of the time and able to convince you to stay because they have those giant glassy eyes, but Noly was winning in that department with her intensely grey sparklers that legitimately made the child look blind. So, Emma works around the kitchen, checking to see if there was cereal-which there was, but she also figured that if the child awoke, she’d need to eat a heavy meal, especially if she and her mother had somewhere to go that day. So, instead of relying on some Lucky Charms, Emma manages to get Noly to lie down on the couch and barricades the four year old by some pillows before she begins to cook something she knows no one can mess up. Oatmeal with fruit and yogurt, some bacon strips and eggs with toast. It’s more than enough for mother and daughter but the blonde settles for a cup of coffee. She sets a breakfast tray up for Regina and covers the food before ascending the stairs. Setting the food down- she straightens out the side of the bed where she and Noly were and sets the tray down there before she closes the door lightly and descends once more. She is met by a sleepy little face and  this sleepy little face is already in the kitchen, in the fridge with her juice cup in hand, attempting to quench her thirst. Emma sneaks up on the child and scoops her up quickly, nearly frightening her, but mostly making her giggle as she tickles her.

“Someone needs to eat,” she announces before blowing bubbles into the child’s neck and hearing the light laughter Noly allows to escape her lips. Emma tucks the child under her arm and totes her like a package before setting her on top of the counter and brushing her curly hair from her face. “Morning, Elli,” she smiles at the child and Noly looks up at her with a grin, proud of her new nickname.

“G’mornin’, Emma,” Noly responds.

“Sleep good, kiddo?”

“Uhuh.. did you?” she asks the blonde and Emma is surprised the child even recognizes that as common courtesy.

“I did, but sooooomeone.. Was a little koala!” Emma announces before she tickles the child once more and Noly squeals in delight. “Still-,” she says and she stops tickling her and Noly gathers herself, “-they were the best Koala I could have. Best cuddles ever,” Emma tells her and Noly smiles. “Ready to eat?” A nod comes and Emma nods back. “Oatmeal?” A nod. “Bacon?” Another nod. “Yogurt?” A shake of the head. 

“I’m ‘lergic to yogit,”

“You are?”

“Mhm, momma doesn’t know why but I can’t have yogit or I gonna itchy,”

“Well we can’t have that now can we?” A shake of the head comes and then Emma is nodding at the little girl, setting her plate and taking her down from the counter. She follows behind Noly who firstly asks her where her own food is, but Emma admits she’s not very hungry and then Noly looks thoughtful for a second. Emma tells her not to worry and she nods before she immediately grabs her chair and heads for the backyard. Emma brings her one cup of coffee and she and the child sit out in the breezy morning that’s looking a bit more alive as the time passes, and they have their own version of breakfast.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

She stretches and God is it a good stretch before her hand clanks against a plate or a bowl or something. That makes her eyes snap open and when her eyes snap open, they are somber when they settle and smiling comes. It’s a smile of appreciation. So much so that red creeps up her cheeks and makes her blush deeply at the thought that Emma, someone who saved her from a rapist, someone who seems to be so connected to her child in such a short space of time-someone who finds reason in wanting to make sure she was okay...made her breakfast and not just breakfast, but breakfast in bed. 

She shakes her head quickly because she’s blushing again and when she blushes this time, it’s insane how red her cheeks become. Regina sits up and pulls the tray into her lap, not neglecting the fact that there is a fresh flower strewn across the tray. Her coffee is the perfect temperature of warm and the exact richness of her usual roast, but there’s a little cup of cold milk for her there as well as a little canister of sugar. The cutest little teaspoon is set at ten o’clock on the tray and her food remains covered by the lid that came with it. Regina uncovers her plate and begins to eat, not even remotely surprised the food tastes like home. It tastes like something Cora used to make for her and Zelena in the mornings even when they would complain about being late for places they needed to be or the things they needed to do. She’d always enforced them having a good meal and the fact that it carried on through Regina’s adult life was no surprise. So, this beautifully crafted breakfast tray of goodness made Regina think of being home, even if home was literally ten minutes if she walked and three if she drived.

She eats her food and she smiles to herself, and nothing feels wrong, everything feels fine. She’s not even thought about Noly’s safety considering Emma’s proven more in one night than most people have in her entire life. When she’s done. SHe sets it aside and decides to take a bath. She has no clue what to do today, probably will end up doing anything Noly wants anyway- but she’s wondering if Emma will come. Granted, she shouldn’t expect the blonde to accompany her and her four year old everywhere just because Noly wants her to- correction, just because they both want her to. She’s sure that on Emma’s day off she’d like to look around or talk to her friends or something other than hang out with a four year old and her mother who’s too shy to exist beyond the little bit of courage she manages to muster up every blue moon. But then there’s part of her that thinks -maybe, just maybe, Emma wouldn’t mind either.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The door handle jiggles and the knob is turned and in enters a rather tall and lanky figure with fiery red hair and eyes about as green as moss that covers the trees in the forest. Legs strut through the apartment as a bag is set down as well as a jacket and a pair of glasses as well. The legs carry whomever it is, into the kitchen where a mug is picked up, ready made coffee is poured and a gracious inhale takes place. It’s strong and it’s nutty, but it’s soothing and rich at the same time. Feet carry the owner to the backdoor and a smirk graces the woman’s face.

“I see you’ve taken on the role of parenting Noly whilst my sister sleeps… Spend the night?” Zelena asks cheekily as she wiggles her brow and Emma spins around, instantly stopping her play time with Noly. The little girl had her skipping around and lifting her high, playing airplane and multiple other things.

“SLEEEPYYY!” Noly shrieks in happiness and Zelena smiles before she opens her arms for the child who’d left Emma and dashed towards her aunt. Zelena catches her and lifts her up before she’s holding her tightly and kissing her little face.

“Doll baby,” Zelena says in a cooing manner to her niece. “How was your night,”

“Cool! Emma stayed over and slept wif me and momma in her bed!”

“Oh! She did, did she?” Zelena questions before her eyes rake over Emma’s embarrassed self and red face. The blonde looks away and Zelena rolls her eyes as she smirks and turns back to her niece.

“Uhuh.. an I had a ni’mare,”

“Was it really scary?” she questions and her niece falls mute for a moment before answering.

“yeah,” Noly nods before burying her face in her aunt’s neck.

“Did your mommy give you lots of hugs and kisses to make it better?”

“Nope.. momma read Harry Potter to me and Emma gave me tickles,”

“Sounds like Emma was being extra awesome,”

“She was!” Noly agrees and Zelena smiles at her before she hugs her again.

“Well, baby doll, what would you say to going out with your old aunt for the day?”

“Can Emma come too?” Noly questions. “She my new friend and I want Sleepy to be her friend too,” Noly tells her aunt before she can even ask why. Zelena has to give it to the little girl, she’s damn smart in her requests and reasoning. She falters and crumbles because, how can you deny the little girl something like that.

“Swan.. you heard her, she wants us to be friends.. Are you coming?” Zelena questions in her usual sass ridden tone and Emma caves because those damn eyes from that little girl are like magic. She groans internally and nods her head.

“Of course,” she says and it’s an immediate triumph for the four year old.

“Well then, now that that’s settled, have you eaten?” 

“Yes ma’am, Emma made me breakfast,”

“No yogurt, right?” a violent shake of the head.

“She told me she was allergic so that’s a new thing I learned,”

“Yes, deathly so and none of us have a clue why considering she’s not lactose intolerant. It’s just yogurt itself,”

“That is strange,” Emma agrees.

“Yes.. it is.. Any how, baby doll, we need to get you dressed so we can head out. Does your mommy let you take baths by yourself yet?” Zelena questions and before Noly can answer, Regina does.

“No, she’s still way too small to be left alone. Besides, the water only comes up to about half her height once she’s sitting, still, I don’t let her bathe alone.”

 

Zelena, Emma and Noly all turn to see Regina quite clearly fresh from her shower and in a pair of dark wash jeans and a women’s plain scoop neck tee. Her hair has been pulled from her face and into a low ponytail that flows limply against her back. Clearly her hair has been washed and blowdried and moisturized, but that’s about it.

“Momma!” Noly grins and Regina walks over to her daughter before kissing her cheeks.

“Good morning, princess,” she coos and her daughter smiles.

“Baby doll here tells me Emma spent the night.. And she slept in your bed.. Care you divulge?” Zelena asks very impishly and Regina rolls her eyes and sighs.

“No, Zelena I do not wish to discuss what occurred last night, with you.. Or with my four year old present,”

“Gasp! Regina you say it as if something scandalous happened!”

“Zelena! For the love of Good and Evil. Give it a rest,” her little sister tells her and she eases up.

“Okay-okay, I yield… minus your secrets, baby doll here is coming out with me today.. And so is your little sleeping buddy,” she teases and Regina groans. Emma’s still standing there very embarrassed and has no idea what to do with her hands, or herself. “Listen, your daughter requested it. I wasn’t being sneaky this time around. She asked me and then gave me perfect reasoning behind why she wants bedmate to be there,”

“And what was the reason?” Regina questions and Emma answers this time.

“She wants me to be friends with Zelena,” Emma says and Regina looks over at the blonde now, a solemn smile on her face. Zelena doesn’t miss it, but she also says nothing about it.

“Please, momma?!” Noly begs and then she hears her older sister copy her child.

“Yeah, Pleeeeease, momma?!”

“Alright-Alllright,” Regina caves and Noly grins triumphantly. Zelena does the same and she lightly scowls at them both. Zelena sets her niece down and watches as Noly pretty much sprints from the room and into the tv area before she turns on the tv and drowns in cartoons. Zelena leans up against a table and looks at the two women before her.

“Swan, not to be crass but, are you shagging my sister already?”   
“ZELENA!” Regina shrieks and Emma pales.

“Oh my God..” Emma mutters to herself.

“What? It’s an honest question. Are you or aren’t you shagging my baby sister?”

“No- No I am not,” Emma answers as best she can with the given circumstance.

“Mmm, see, I don’t quite believe you, I don’t know why, but I just don’t..”

“I’m sorry?” Emma asks and Zelena rolls her eyes as Regina walks through the kitchen and pinches her sister’s shoulder. She hisses and Regina shakes her head at her.

“I was only asking,” Zelena expresses and Regina grunts.

“At the expense of comfort.. How loving of you, sis,” she scolds and Zelena smirks and bobs her head.

“I know, I am very loving, aren’t I?”

“Zelena.. Up. Shut,”

“Fiiiiiiine…...soooo, she slept in your bed-”

“ZELENA!”

“OKAYYYYYY! okay.. I’m sorry, but it’s just so interesting that the town’s new arrival is a knight in shining armour to my little sister and wants nothing in return. You don’t want to bump uglies? Munch her carpet? Mow her lawn? Scratch her po-”

“ZELENA FOR THE LOVE OF CHRIST- I WILL INCINERATE YOU!” Regina threatens and Zelena laughs loudly.

“I can’t help it. Look at her, she’s red and you’re not far behind in that one.. But seriously,” Zelena says and she pauses before walking over to Emma and hugging her. “I know I’ve thanked you already, but I want to thank you again for saving my little sister. Even if I am teasing you, just know that’s my way of welcoming you into our family.. Besides, you’ll have more to deal with where our parents are concerned… get used my antics and you’re gold.”

  
  


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

After that little moment with Zelena, she left the two women to their devices and Regina thanked Emma for breakfast but Emma pretty much told her she felt need to do it and in response, Regina had said.

“You seem to think that when anything applies to me and my daughter...why?”

“I don’t know, I just think you deserve it.”

 

At that, Regina can say nothing in response, but rather, Noly comes in and disrupts the conversation and it’s because she wants to get ready so she can go out with her aunt. She asks her mother if Emma can bathe her too and Regina lets Emma answer that for herself. At first Emma tells her she probably shouldn’t, but one look from Noly and she caves. She’s really lost as to how this little girl manages to make that happen so easily, but she says nothing about it after a bit. So, she follows them upstairs and hears Zelena make a comment about shagging, once more. She follows them into Noly’s bathroom and it’s gorgeous. It’s blue and pink and yellow and it’s themed with nothing in particular except fishy curtains and mermaid pictures on the wall, but then it has clouds and teddy bear stickers on it too and Emma is in awe at how beautiful it all was. Regina sets the water for Noly and puts her in and they spend a half an hour bathing her and playing with squishy toys with her and Noly splashing them both. Once she’s done, they take her out,let her brush her teeth as Regina sings whilst she does. Emma inspects her teeth and then she wraps her in a big towel and Emma watches as the child goes through her closet and picks out exactly what she wants to wear.. She picks out something almost replicated to what Emma had on the night before.Her little boots are black and so are her jeans but her shirt is the same plaid makeup as Emma’s. Her hair stays wild and she throw a little ski hat on top of her head and in minutes, the little girl is ready with a smile. Regina does offer to loan Emma some of her things for the time being just so Emma wouldn’t have to walk to the B&B and then back up to wherever it was to meet them for their long day out. Emma doesn’t even bother attempting to say no because if Noly is anything like her mother then the likelyhood of Regina’s eyes doing the exact same thing that just makes her weak in the knees and then causes her to crack, well then that was something she was going to avoid just because she couldn’t handle it.

After she takes a shower in Regina’s bathroom and finds that she’s bathed with Regina’s soap, used two of Regina’s towels and smelt Regina’s shampoo in her own hair, Emma feels a bit strange that this woman who smells like honey on a regular basis, uses nothing that smells even remotely like it when it comes to her hygiene. But then it stopped being strange and started being something Emma envied because -

Who in the hell smelt like honey on a daily?! Regina freaking Mills- that’s who!

She exits the tub and dries herself completely once she’s positive her clumsy fingers won’t let the towel fall into the wet tub and then she’s running that same towel through her hair and drying it into the frizzy mess it soon becomes. Emma smiles when she sees that there is a new toothbrush set on the counter next to a clearly used tube of toothpaste- and she’s no Houdini, but she’s damn sure positive that toothbrush wasn’t there when she stepped into the shower. With a sway in her hips and a sashay to her sway, Emma dances to the tune in her head and brushes her teeth like it was something she found utter joy in doing regardless of the day. Once she’s done, she throws on the clothes Regina has put on the bed for her and forgoes underwear because.. That’s gross to repeat underwear-but she’ll be damned if she doesn’t wear a bra. So, she does, and she’s happy she does because her B cup boobs are grateful for the lift to look less A cup than they usually do. Emma thumps her way downstairs, Hair freshly into that wash and go style and her old clothes packed away in a small bag Regina had purposely left on the bed for her. Her boots are in hand as a more comfortable pair of sandals grace her feet. She was never much for showing her toes, but it seemed to not affect her so much once she was bombarded with a hug by a four year old who was just too precocious for this world.

“Hey, Elli, ready to go?” Emma questions and Noellia nods enthusiastically, meanwhile Zelena’s in the corner looking at Regina and questioning her sister silently.  _ Elli? _ She mouths and Regina just shrugs and smiles. Zelena brushes it off and the four people exit the house, Regina trailing behind Emma as she whispers yet another

‘Thank you’


	8. She bit me!

Outside is extremely sunny, with a slight bit of wind, but for the most part it’s absolutely lovely. Emma feels at ease- even if she is wearing Regina’s clothes and pretty much beyond commando as it relates to her underwear. She’s positive she may not return those clothes either..not that she was being creepy about it or anything, but she was sure she’d be keeping them because she doubts that as many times as she can sweat in them, they’ll smell any less like Regina from the first time she got them. She’s also convinced- once again, not because she’s creepy, but she’s convinced she won’t wash it. Best way to enjoy the comfort of someone being there without actually having them there right?   _ Right _ . They walk because it’s something that makes sense to do. The town is small and Noly seems to enjoy that rather than being strapped down in her carseat in the car. Emma laughs to herself about that because already this little girl clearly despises restrictions...then again, they only apply when her mother was involved. She clearly loved Regina and she obviously adored her aunt and grandparents and seemed more than enamoured with her godparents, but Emma was even more surprised that the child had taken a liking to her. She’s awkward at best and for most of her childhood, she was never really liked by anyone.. At least, until she met August. Since the day they met, they’d been like two peas in a pod, even when they started to find their interests in different things. August in girls and Emma in..sports.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

_ “Em,” she heard her name be called..or rather, yelled and the blonde spun around to meet the eyes of her friend.  _

_ “Auggie, I really gotta go man, I’ll call so we can talk later,” she said as she waved and attempted to  run, but August stopped her. _

_ “I know,  _ **_that_ ** _ ,” the boy answered , his voice significantly closer to her now. Emma spun back once again to the sight of August breathing heavily. “I just wanted to give you back your math book,” he clarified and she blushed. _

_ “You know, I completely forgot about that.. I forgot I loaned it out at all,” _

_ “I can tell,” he grinned as he handed it over. Emma smiled as she shoved it into a vacant pocket on her backpack. “Now you can run away,” August teased before she managed to punch him in the arm. He cried out in a laugh. “Love you too,” and grinned as he rubbed at his sore ligament. _

_ “Later Aug,” Emma had said over her shoulder and he waved. _

_ “Later Em.” _

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

She is pulled from the fond memory when they near the park and Noly begins to excitedly jump up and down at the prospect of going on the swings. Any day that she didn’t have school was a good day and Emma couldn’t blame her excitement at all. The urgency in the child’s excitement comes when she spots a familiar face and begins to squeal with joy.

“Momma! Roland’s out there!” she says happily before pointing and Regina bends so she can follow her daughter’s finger and nods when she sees the little boy’s full head of hair.

“I see him, sweetheart. And I take it that you want to go and play with him?” her mother asks and she nods eagerly.

“Can I?” she questions and her eyes go big with hope and Regina doesn’t even look at her because she already cracked.

“Of course you can-,” she starts and Noly pretty much begins to sprint, dragging Emma behind her which in turn means Regina is shouting after her. “-but be careful and no running or you’ll hurt yourself!” she ends, coming back down on her feet because in all of that, she somehow managed to end up on her tiptoes.

“Regina darling, you and I both know she will have long forgotten that one main rule considering she’s four and this is a playground, not the office,” Zelena tells her younger sister almost matter of factly and Regina’s head tilts as she sighs, but she’s not sad, the words are just finally registering in her brain.

“I know, Lena, but she’s so small.. And I made a promise to protect her-,”

“-yes, from the bad things in life,” she hastily agrees if only to further her point. “A scraped knee isn’t something to end the world over-,”

“-maybe not in your book, but she’s my daughter and until you have a child of your own, don’t tell me how to raise mine,” Regina says and there’s no bite to it. Quite honestly most of their conversations are barely arguments, but this was always a tit for tat situation with them. Zelena wasn’t about to have children when she was almost finished with her degree, approaching thirties or current thirties be damned. And she didn’t want to raise a child with all of the usual motherly and parental things lacking because she’d miss their first steps and first words and everything. It was kind of strange how when Noly came into the picture, Zelena somehow managed to find time for all of that because she was there, helping her sister raise the now four year old with absolutely no headache or qualms, then again..Noly was a rather good child on a regular basis. She wasn’t seeing defensive behaviour in Regina, she saw a mother. A worried one at that. And that worry more than likely had to do with Leopold White and what he’d managed to make her feel. She knew what Regina was saying, it’s just that Regina wouldn’t flat out say it. “ _ I’m scared, Lena, _ ” is what she can see in her eyes, but the stoic, almost dead look in Regina’s actual features would lead anyone, even Emma- to believe otherwise.

“Alright,” she eases and Regina folds her arms. She sighs at her actions and shakes her head.

“Lena, I’m sorry-,”

“-no no, it’s fine. It’s okay Regina, really. I get it. Listen, I know you wanted and still want to keep her safe from everything and everyone, but someday, and it might be soon, she will end up going through something. She may end up seeing something or experiencing something that changed her perspective on how perfect life is, but Regina, it’s up to you not to hide her from that because she won’t know how to handle it and she won’t know how to be strong like you and I had to learn how to be…”

“I don’t want for her to have to learn that,”

“But she will eventually and it’s better that she learn it now rather than later after someone hurts her worse because she was too naive.. Do you want the same thing that happened to us to happen to her?” Zelena questioned her and she looked away, her eyes showing the pain of her past in them. Regina shakes her head slightly, determined if nothing else.

“She won’t..  _ it _ won’t,”

“That’s only if you do what you’re supposed to-,”

“- I  _ am, _ Lena,”

“You’re doing part of it, not all of it. You have to teach her if no one else will,” Zelena tried to appeal to her and she sags.

“I’m trying, Lena, but every time I do, something bad happens to us- or me and she has to adjust all over again.. I don’t have to look at her to know that she’s afraid Emma will leave one day and not come back- I already had to deal with her meltdown when you left. She loves Emma already and that’s never happened with anyone who wasn’t family or godparents… I don’t want to see her face be so broken just because Emma may not stay around to watch her grow up,”

“Then make the best of it now. She’d appreciate it more when she looks back on this that you made the best of it for her...stop worrying, you’re doing amazing. You don’t need experience to be a mother, you just need an ear to listen and a heart for love, Regina. And you have both. You’ve always had both. Stop undermining yourself.”

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

_ “Hey,” the voice of a classmate rang out and the young brunette looked up. She pushed her traditional, box and black framed glasses up the expanse of her nose before brushing her very long bangs from her face. A smile spread across her face before she spoke. _

_ “Oh, hey Kevin,” she greeted. “Need something?” she queried before taking in the sight of the nervous looking young man before her. What Kevin lacked in weight, he surely made up for in height. His lankiness and equally as brunette hair and freckled face only added light to his already blue eyes. _

_ “N-no, not really. I kinda just wanted to ask if we could reschedule my session for like Wednesday or something?” He shifted nervously and prepared for a no but Regina just smiled at him. _

_ “Sure, Kev. This Wednesday or next Wednesday?”  _

_ “Next Wednesday,” he answered and she nodded. _

_ “Okay, but it’ll have to be during lunch-,” _

_ “-so I need to bring my Ipod,” he finished her sentence and she smiled. _

_ “You’re remembering,” she smiled and he blushed. _

_ “It’s just that, you were right about me needing music during those weird hours when I can’t zone out and just focus on my work,” he smiled back and now she blushed. _

_ “You have such a nice personality and you’re so much more talkative with me… why is that?” she asked and the boy stuttered. _

_ “I-I don’t know. I guess it’s because you’re nice to me,” the boy stated. _

_ “Other people are nice to you,” _

_ “Not like you,” he reminded. “You’re just different. You don’t see me as this awkward mess of limbs,” he began but she grinned. _

_ “You kind of  _ are _ an awkward mess of limbs, though..but that’s what’s so good about you. You’re so sweet and so so caring. And you’d be any girl’s type,” _

_ “But I’m not your type,” he shrugged, but she sensed that defeat in him. _

_ “Yeah but no one’s my ‘type’...especially boys,” she shrugged back and the boy gasped. _

_ “Regina!..are you- are you- a lesbian!” he sputtered. “Is this your coming out?” he questioned and she rolled her eyes before thumping his head. _

_ “You’re such a smart alecky kind of guy.. Besides, you as well as anyone else should know.. I’m a little more lenient to girls than I am to guys..most times,” she winked and he grinned. _

_ “Soooooooorrrryyyyy!” he sang before taking a seat next to her. “Hey,” he said before nudging her. “You know I’ll always love you and I’m happy to just settle for being your friend,” _

_ “I know,” she whispered as she fell against his shoulder and sighed happily. _

_ “Even if you do only love the birds,” he continued and she rolled her eyes again, this time with more solemn happiness in them. _

_ “I love the bees too, Kev.. You’re one of em,” she admitted to him and he hugged her close. _

_ “I’m glad,” he admits and she smirks. _

_ “Yeah, but what did I tell you about labelling me?” _

_ “Well, in my defense, I thought you were actually talking about birds and bees,” he said and she laughed. _

_ “Jesus, Kevin- no. I mentioned you, by name, how could you possibly think I was still referring to animals…” _

_ “Dunno, but which ones are the bees anyway?” _

_ “Well, science proves that bees are predominantly male-,” _

_ “-and in England they call girls ‘bird’, right?” _

_ “Yeah, so it’s equal opportunity reference wise because most ‘types’ of birds end up being female,” _

_ “So, you only like the birds?” he questioned and she smirked. _

_ “What did I just tell you,” _

_ “Not to label you, but you just said boys weren’t your thing,” _

_ “No, I said it’s equal opportunity. And I didn’t say I was opposed to dating them. I’m just opposed to dating them..now.” _

_ “Regina, you’re opposed to dating everyone,” he joked and they both smiled at that. _

_ “Yes, and I’ll be opposed to having smart ass friends too.. Pretty soon at that,” she jokingly threatened and Kevin pouted. _

_ “So , you wanna come over and hang later?” he asked and then she went eerily mute. _

_ “No, I have to be back at the home before nine today. Lisa’s only giving me the extra time because I tutor. But, I’m fourteen and she only trusts me enough right now not to take away my privileges. I can’t mess that up,” she admits and Kevin’s face falls slightly. _

_ “I can ask my brother to take you when he gets home.. Or we could go to a movie- my treat,” he offers sadly, and his voice is so broken that Regina has to look away from him. _

_ “Sorry Kev, I can’t… but maybe I can stay for an extra hour or two after school before I leave,” Regina then offers him and he smiles sadly at her. _

_ “I’ll take it… Hey, how’ve you been holding up- you know, with all of that?” he asked genuinely concerned and she shrugged. _

_ It was always a sore subject for Regina and for him. She was this innocent beauty, extremely well mannered and well educated. Her morals were enviable...but she was an orphan- or a foster child, it didn’t matter, point was, she didn’t have parents and by that point in her life- at 14, she held out no more hope to ever be adopted. Who would want a child on the verge of aging out anyway? _

_ “You know my parents would adopt you if they could-” _

_ “-But they already have you and your brothers and adding one more mouth to feed would be enough to warrant them less than middle class. I know,” she tried to say offhandedly but Kevin sensed more. Regina then pulled out her pen and pad and began to scribble. _

_ “It’s not that,” he defended but he continued to watch her scribble. “The amount of attention my parents  _ **_want_ ** _ to give you and would end up giving you, wouldn’t be fair. My mom and dad wanna spoil you, but since they have three boys and my brothers are either teens ready to leave or a five year old still confused about the world..they can’t. They love you so much, but they feel guilty knowing you’d have to settle for backhanded attention. They don’t want that for you- _ **_I_ ** _ don’t want that for you, Regina,” he tried to smile, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes. Doesn’t he know she’d give anything just to be in a house- in a home with other people, people she knows for a fact actually do love her. Doesn’t he know she’d settle for anything outside of an orphanage where she doesn’t have all of the hand me downs and all of the newly released. Doesn’t he just get that she would settle for the couch in his parents’ home than to be on some messed up spring loaded cot that could barely hold a small child, much less this growing teen. Doesn’t he know she’s sick and tired of being the oldest of the home and watching left and right as little children are constantly being adopted around her whilst the adults just patronize her by telling her she’s so pretty as they leave with their new baby? She’s sick of Kevin trying to tell her how much she’s loved when she feels like she always does...not worthy of it all, but then she looks at him and she sees his honesty. She sees his truth and she sees that he speaks from a place of belief and of hope and Kevin speaks to her heart on a level no one ever reaches because she won’t let them. He gets her where no one else tries to. Kevin speaks to Regina’s broken heart and she loves him beyond life for it. _

_ She tackles him with a hug after dropping her pen and buries her face in his neck. _

_ “Thanks, Kev,” she whispers sweetly and he sags gently before holding her and hugging her back. _

_ “Don’t. You’ll always be family somehow.. Just the different kind,” _

_ “Yeah…  I know,” she mutters and he sighs… _

 

_ School ends and as promised, Regina stays for the extra hour or two before she looks down at her watch and sighs. _

_ “So, what are you going to do until then?” he questions her and she shrugs. _

_ “TT and some alone time, I guess,” she’d said and he knew her mind was still reeling from their conversation earlier. _

_ “You really like it there, don’t you,” he said with a soft grin and Regina sighed. _

_ “It’s just like me. Abandoned, broken- used and a mess,” _

_ “Regina,” he whined. _

_ “Kevin,” she copied, much less whiny. _

_ “Alright… I won’t argue with you over it,” _

_ “Because it’s true,” _

_ “It’s not, but you don’t see what I see, or what anyone else sees for that matter,” he stated and she rolled her eyes. _

  
  


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

“Hey, what’s on your mind,” Emma interrupts quietly and Regina slowly comes from her daze. Her hand rests against her temple as she shuts her eyes and sighs softly. Zelena had somehow managed to just slip over to her niece after her sister’s mind went off on it’s own.

“Nothing, I was just thinking about someone,” she says and Emma tilts her head just slightly in question. Regina catches the contradiction of the words, but she focuses on Emma who clearly wasn’t focused on that.

“Someone special?” the blonde asks and Regina nods just slightly.

“He was,” she admits and of course Emma’s mind goes off on a tangent of - _ he _ . Of course Regina would be straight as a nail. Hell, her first assumption under Ruby was something she still wishes she could die in a hole for, but here they were.

“I-I’m sorry,” Emma stutters out an apology and Regina shakes her head, her hand now settling against her chest. 

“It’s okay, but.. I need to go back home for a minute. I left something..would you mind..” she trailed off before her eyes fell on her sister and daughter. She’s standing now, and in all honesty, none of her actions are registering in that moment because she’s so out of it that it’s just something that happens.

“Yeah sure- no problem. I’ll keep an eye on them. I may not have good aim with a gun, but I’m pretty good on combat.. Hand to hand at that.. At least, that’s what my best friend told me,” she grins just slightly and when Regina looks over at her, that smile is familiar.. Very familiar. And that scares her.

“Your best friend?”

“Yeah.. I’d call her name but you’d probably say it’s unlikely her parents named her that.. But she took, Karate, Taekwondo and-,”

“-Judo,” Regina finds herself interrupting and Emma’s eyes go wide for a second. For some reason, that thought just clicked.

“Yeah, how did you know?” she questions and the brunette then fumbles for a response before saying.

“Those are the top three kinds of martial arts studies.. You said you were good with hand to hand combat, it only seems fitting,” she managed and Emma’s eyes bat for a moment as she contemplated those words.

“I guess you’re right,”

“mm...I’ll be right back,” she says again and Emma nods.

“Yeah- sure. I got them. Don’t worry,” Emma tells her and somehow, she believes those words, even if she’s only known Emma for a split second. Regina smiles and begins walking away before stopping short and turning around. She walks back and her arms are flung around Emma’s neck in seconds before she’s muttering her thanks again. Emma is shocked- beyond shocked by this but she finally hugs her back, continuously reminding Regina that she just  _ had _ to.. It was something about her that made her  _ want _ to..and she felt she needed to.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Regina finds herself at her house. Her mind was running a mile a minute so she wouldn’t have noticed anything out of the ordinary if it screamed at her. Her feet were moving on their own accord as they take her up the stairs and straight into her room. She feels herself relax only slightly as she adjusts to the familiar environment before her. Nothing was broken, there were no jaded and disgruntled memories. No monsters without a face...or as of now- with one. Still, he wasn’t there and she could actually sit in her room without panic. She could lay on her bed without fear. She could use her shower and not have to look back so many times because she feels or senses he may be there.. Watching her. Drooling at the image of her.

Leopold White was not there and that was the best damn thing in life at that point in time. He wasn’t there to ruin her and take her innocence… not in that home. Not in that room. Not in this strong state of mind that she had. Softness be damned! Her eyes quickly scan the bureau for the one thing she’d left for in such a hurry. Her fingers trail across the cool surface of the wood, but her eyes are hungrily looking. Aggressively searching. Painfully positive that it’s there... and then she sees it. Nestled directly between two books but still very clearly visible- was her locket necklace. She picks it up and quickly unclasps it before putting it on. It drapes across her collarbone and settles against her skin. Her still tender and slightly bruised skin. Then she’s locking it back. Her hand settles against it and she sighs in relief.

“I miss you, Kev,” she whispers to no one. “You and Daniel,” she continues before her hands falls away from the locket and she looks into the mirror on top of her bureau. 

She stares at herself and what she sees..is nothing. She doesn’t see anything but her face sporting a faint bruise and her neck only slightly purple in some areas if you really looked. Her head tilts as her fingers touch the hem of her shirt and then she’s raising it up and over her head. Regina lets the shirt dangle off her hand as her head continues to tilt in..an odd amazement at how marred she truly was under all of that. The entire right side of her abdomen is blackened purple. Slight vein marks are peaking through where they never would have, and they wrap around to her lower back, dipping down into her spine and disappearing behind her jeans. She knows that parts of the top of her thighs, the ones Emma could not see thankfully, were also bruised, even now more so. Her left side is only a bit red, but that was probably from something else. Her shoulders were tinted and her arms were only slightly off in colour.. It was just her abdomen that took the brunt of that. The bastard did kick her pretty hard...and that was after the fact that her levelled his fist into her stomach. Regina sighs, this time from aggravation before she drops onto her bed with a thump-like sitting position. She tosses the shirt and falls back onto her back and stares at her ceiling. Her eyes bat once and then again and then on the third go round, they shut. And when they shut, she’s not sure she did open them back and that probably had to do with the fact that she fell asleep.

 

The house door opens and shuts with a regular noisiness no one can ignore. Feet shuffle through and shuffle through as conversation continues. It’s clear this conversation is part argument, part consensus, part debate, part agreement. It’s been about a good hour and Emma supposes that Regina’s version of coming right back..was not coming right back. She’d managed to get Zelena and Noellia back without harm and that’s because she took her promise very seriously as it related to watching them..even after Graham called her and told her she needed to come in. She’d cut their time at the park short and Zelena didn’t take too well to that, but Noly was more convinced she was going with Emma anyway so she didn’t care.

“I can’t believe you  _ really _ cut playtime short all because you promised Regina’s you’d watch us,”

“Well, I’m sorry I stopped your flirting session from continuing, but I told her I’d keep you guys safe, and I can’t do that if I’m all the way across town at the police station,” Emma tells her and she scoffs.

“Darling, this place is about as big as my thumb. And your version of all the way across town is quite literally a five minute walk. Everything in this town is a five minute walk and if you think I’m exaggerating, turn through the corner right at the end of the street and you will see the police station. My niece could probably walk that without noticing. Hell, I could jog that, and I don’t exercise…” Zelena argued as she made her way over to the kitchen counter and leaned over it. Emma made her way into the kitchen and grabbed a juice pouch for Noly before going to give it to the child and walking back into the kitchen. She’d made sure cartoons were on and that the little girl was comfortable.

“I still wasn’t going to leave you both alone,” Emma tells her with a shrug as she too leans over the counter.

“Swan, I’m not four like my niece. I’m a grown woman in my…” Zelena trails off and Emma smirks, rising from the counter. Zelena follows suit.

“Early thirties I know. Your secret is safe with me, but until then, you two are staying here and I’ll go check in with your sister and tell her I’m leaving,” Emma continues and Zelena rolls her eyes.

“What are you- married?” she somewhat teased and questioned very earnestly and Emma shrugged. The blonde begins to exit the kitchen as she speaks.

“Seems you wouldn’t mind if I was married to her,”

“Why the hell would I- she bats for both teams,” Zelena told the blonde with a raised brow and her beautifully sarcastic ways. Emma pauses at the exit of the kitchen and her head turns to regard the redhead.

“Huh?” she questioned dumbly and Zelena rolled her eyes.

“Do keep up, Swan. Regina. My little sister- remember her? She bats for both teams. She plays softball and does ballet if you wanna say it like that,” Zelena joked and Emma’s eyes went wide with interest.

“Oh,” is all Emma says and Zelena looks at her with a squint.

“Seriously? You didn’t know?” Zelena questions her with a grin and she shrugs uneasily.

“Well I’m not exactly the type to go asking, and why would I… it’s not my place,” she tells the auburn haired woman and Zelena tilts her head. She gives her that one. “Besides… I kind of made an ass of myself the first day here,”

“And how could you manage to do that- that easily?”

“I assumed she was Ruby’s wife-,”

“-OH MY GOD!” Zelena belted before she lost it and turned into a puddle of laughter. “ _ How?!” _ she questions because she really wants to know.

“It was how they were acting with each other.. I just assumed-,”

“-Okay, one.. Don’t make assumptions-,”

“-Too late.. Because I made one today too,” she admitted and Zelena grinned so deeply that it made Emma smirk. She was extremely fun to be around..even if she was teasing the blonde.

“Dear God I must hear this,” Zelena said as she got comfortable at the counter again. Emma leant up against the kitchen entrance and folded her arms.

“Well, I didn’t vocalize it this time, so I saved myself...but when she was thinking I asked her what it was about and she said someone.. I asked if they were special or something like that and she said ‘he was’ and I instantly thought that made her bone straight,”

“How in the hell do you go from thinking my sister is gay as hell to straight as a board?”

“Beats me. I’ve been told multiple times my gaydar is terrible,”

“Yeah, it is..” Zelena teased and Emma scowled at her. “I mean, you kind of got it right.. If you lump both assumptions together- you did technically make her sexuality,”

“Through two asinine situations in which my mind decided to misconstrue what I was being told..”

“Big words, long sentence. Swan, shhhhh. I’m trying to avoid things remotely close to school right now,” Zelena grunted and Emma grinned.

“Sorry… I need to go check on her though. I told Graham I’d be there in ten and I’m almost positive I already went past that,” Emma tells the woman and Zelena sits up straight.

“I bet you a nickel that she’s sleeping,”

“Only a nickel,” Emma challenges and Zelena grins.

“Trust me when I say I would take your money. I may not be here very often, but if Regina’s any bit the same as she was when we were younger.. She still sleeps in.. especially when she’s as tired as she’s been… what do you say, bet me?” she queries and Emma walks over before slamming a nickel on the counter and Zelena does the same. They grin at each other and Emma shakes her head.

“What could you possibly buy with a nickel?”

“Candy.. A packet of gum.. A pencil- you’d be surprised. This place is dirt cheap, then again you wouldn’t know that just yet considering what you did..at least, it’s what Granny told me,” the woman said and Emma blushes very red. “You are one lucky woman. You made it here by the skin of your teeth and you’re lucky Granny adored your father enough...maybe you should meet Marco,” Zelena then suggests and Emma’s head tilts.

“Marco?”

“Yes, the man who trained your father,”

“Oh- Ohhhhh, right, him… he’s still alive?”

“Yes he is, just a bit senile, but he’s at the home for the elderly. He’s quite aggressive with bingo, that man,” she recalls and Emma has to smother her laugh but Zelena catches her and grins. “I’m not kidding. He threw his jello at Mister Wright when the old bitty claimed he got bingo before Marco.. Weirdest elderly fight I’d heard of in years,”

“Zelena it’s probably the only elderly fight you’ve heard in years,”

“Touche…” Zelena levels and Emma shakes her head before walking away again. Zelena doesn’t stop her this time after she says, 

“If your sister is asleep, at least you’ll be five cents richer…”

  
  


Emma makes her way down the hall of the house because Regina’s room is downstairs and Noly’s is upstairs. It’s a strange setup but that’s the house. She sees the door is cracked and walks towards it slowly. There’s no sound, but then she’s opening the door gently and sees Regina’s legs dangling off the backside of the bed and upper half sprawled out across the top of the mattress. Her first instinct is literally to panic and rush to the woman’s aid because- _ OH GOD! _ Who knows with Regina. She could’ve planned all of this so she could overdose on some pills or slit her wrist or quit life and Emma wasn’t for that. 

And then logical Emma kicked in because she walked closer to the woman and noticed Regina was quite literally dead to the world...with sleep. Emma sighed so deeply she’s sure she made her heart slow down. At first she smiled at the way Regina’s hair was splayed out across her shoulder. She’d clearly pulled that ponytail out at some point and now her hair was just laying all over her. Her hands were up around her head much like an infant’s would be when they slept on their backs. And that’s where the beautiful smile stopped as Emma spotted the bruises. Her nerve and anger got the best of her as she looked closer and fought with herself on whether or not she should touch any of them. Her hand hovered over Regina’s stomach and the look on her face proved she was not only saddened by what she was seeing but raging with anger. Regina stirred where she lay and Emma came back to reality. If she let it, her mind would have her plot murder for that bastard locked up in a cell. The only thing keeping her from killing him is knowing that he’s suffering with a gunshot wound that would probably turn gangrene. Regina stirs again and this time, Emma jumps. She sees the brunette curl into fetal position and can’t help but to look at her. Emma carefully rests her hands beneath Regina’s thighs and as gently as she can, slips the other under her side before she curls her hands around the woman and pulls her towards her body. Regina winces even in sleep, but Emma manages to get her in her arms and up off the bed before she’s making her way to the other side and laying her down. The brunette curls right back up and rolls over on the opposite side and Emma shakes her head, but it’s also a good thing because that way she can pull the covers back and tuck Regina in. She manages to get them undone and when she goes to fix Regina under them, she ends up being the object of Regina’s sleepy affection. Emma gets her hands on Regina again and this time when she goes to tuck her under, Regina latches onto the sleeve of her shirt. It catches the blonde off guard to say the least, but she doesn’t mind it too much with the way Regina’s face looks so gentle and innocent...and young. Emma realizes she’s cradling the woman and mentally kicks herself for how she’s flat out babying Regina. For all she knows, the brunette could be completely against that..and rightfully annoyed, but then Emma had an ace in the hole, Regina’s the one who grabbed onto her, so even if the brunette wanted to argue, Emma could tell her she shouldn’t have held on to her like that and maybe she wouldn’t have been cradled….. But she doubts  _ any _ of that would even remotely happen. She was always creating situations and in most cases, those situations never ended well.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Wait!” the little boy interrupted and the teen stopped.

“What’s wrong, bud?”

“Nothin’.. Is dat how mommy and momma fell in love?” he questioned and she shook her head with a soft laugh.

“Not exactly.. See, I was four when mommy and momma met,”

“Den how do you know?” her brother asked and she tilted her head.

“Wellllll, if you let me finish I’ll tell you cus I gotta tell the story so I remember. It was lots of really nice things that happened. When mommy came, her grampa hurt momma and she didn’t like that so she hurt him back,” she explained and his eyes widened.

“Did he die?” he questioned and she muttered.

“I wish he did,” but instead she shook her head. “Not right away, no,”

“Den...what happened?”

“Momma and mommy let him live,”

“Oh… thas nice,”

“It is...Okay, where was I?” she questioned and watched as her little brother put a fist to his chin and thought.

“Police Station wif Unca Graham,” he told her and she nodded.

“Right.. Okay, so I couldn’t find momma and mommy-”

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

“Don’...go,” came the soft mutter from Regina after latching onto Emma. The blonde had tried to nearly pry Regina’s soft fingers from her shirt, but to no avail the action was done. She claimed defeat to the gentle soul before her as she settled her back against the headboard of Regina’s bed. Emma’s head fell back in the quiet the room afforded her and before she could fathom why she was feeling so uncomfortable with how she was sitting, it clicked in her head. Regina was practically laying on one half of the blonde and that was dragging her arm down. She supposes now she shouldn’t refer to it as cradling if she pretty much just has Regina leant up against her chest at her side. She shifts the woman enough that Regina is fully in her lap and she actually is cradling her like a baby. Regina’s small hips fit snuggly in between Emma’s thighs and her legs hang off the side of the blonde’s legs. Her head rests more comfortably against the blonde and Emma looks down at her for another moment in time where she now realizes another thing. 

Regina is absolutely gorgeous.. And she has a scar on her upper lip. It’s something Emma squints at because it makes her remember something.. She just doesn’t know what it is yet. Her eyes fall on the setting of Regina’s bedroom, something she wasn’t taking into consideration when she first entered the room earlier that morning. Now that she was looking around the place… it was bare to say the least. Emma’s seen Noly’s room and dear God it was full of stuff, but Regina’s is completely bare. Save for what Regina clearly used daily, her room was black and white, in both senses of the term. Emma’s head tilts because she can just make out the inside of Regina’s closet. That’s just as bare as the rest of the room. Her closet- Emma can tell, literally has what you’d consider ‘work clothes’ and her usual everyday wear… and that was about maybe two weeks worth of shirts. She looked back down at Regina and her eyes filled with unshed tears. She didn’t know what to think of it all because the house itself was adorably small, but still large at the same time and it was clear Regina gave Noellia everything the child could possibly ask for. The house practically looked like Noellia was the only one living there. The only traces of Regina were probably the photos she took with her daughter. And then she’s distracted from her thoughts when little feet and equally larger ones come into the room and Noly heads straight for the closet. Zelena pauses in the doorway and Noly reemerges with a coat that’s at least three times her size..and height. She clearly has the penguin waddle happening now as she makes her way from the closet with the massive amount of fabric pretty much covering her entire body, save for her head. She clambers up and onto the bed and Emma can’t hold it any longer, she sputters a quiet laugh and the child looks at her with wide eyes.

“Nice coat, kid..” she compliments and trails off. Noly grins cheekily as she crawls closer to her mother and the blonde.

“It was Dane’s jacket,” she tells the blonde and now Emma is lost. She looks from Noly to Zelena in questions.

“Dane? Who’s that?”

“...my daddy,” she says softly as she fiddled with the lapels on the coat. Emma’s face softens, her eyes landing on Zelena and the auburn haired woman unfolds her arms and walks into the room a little.

“I’ll let Regina explain that one to you...not my business to tell, but yes, my niece is correct.. He is..or-was her father,” Zelena tells Emma and the blonde nods.

“I’m sorry,” she says and it’s not her usual crutch response when someone tells her bad news.. She actually means it. Zelena nods only slightly before she shifts in her spot and settles on the bed. In an attempt to lighten the mood, she brushes back her sister’s hair and watches as Regina scrunches up her nose.

“Any particular reason you’re cradling my baby sister.. I mean, I get that she’s the baby-”

“- I thought I was the baby!” Noly interrupts and Zelena leans back with her lip jutted out before layering kisses on her niece’s cheek.

“You are everybody’ baby, sweetheart, but your mommy is my baby sister, therefore she is also a baby,”

“But mommy a old baby,” Noly claims and Zelena smirks.

“She is an older baby than you..”

“Uhuh and that means auntie Lena is extinct,” Noly then says and Zelena looks rightfully insulted until she reaches out and tickles the girl without a hint of letting up. Noly squeals loudly and tries to squirm away but two things are working against her. That damn jacket and Zelena’s long amazonian frame. Their noise wakes Regina, which is no surprise, but the brunette doesn’t jolt awake or wake up instantly. It’s cute mutterings of her begging whoever it is to just shut up, but clearly her sister and her daughter don’t hear as Zelena says something along the lines of.

“You- little monkey, are going to be tickled to death,” she threatened and Noly shouted.

“NUHUH!”

Her mother grumbled and her eyes opened slowly. The first thing Regina saw was Emma’s chin and a soft smile on her face. Emma was watching the interaction between niece and aunt very carefully, but very openly as well. Clearly she saw something between them that made her smile to herself and soon directly, Regina found herself smiling slightly at all three of them. She took in a deep breath and that alerted Emma who immediately looked down at her, eyes slightly widened, but her smile remained.

“hey..you’re awake,” she whispered and Regina nodded gently. Her eyes dipped shut for a moment and for the life of her she couldn’t remember why she felt so comfortable..and safe. “Sorry we’re so close, but you wouldn’t let go..so I had to hold you,” the blonde continues.  _ Oh _ …. Regina blushed red.

“I’m sorry,” she apologised quietly as she tried to leave Emma’s arms but it felt as though Emma had held her back.

“No, it’s okay.. It kinda gave me the time to rest too.. Graham called earlier...he wanted me to come into the station to give my report. Granted that was about two hours ago,” she said and both she and Regina share a soft laugh.

“Again, I’m sorry,”

“And again.. Don’t be- besides,  I’m sure he’ll understand. And I couldn’t go unless I told you because little lady over there wants to go with me,” she motions with her chin and Regina finally looks over at her daughter’s little smiling face and insane curls.

“She does?” Regina asks but her eyes don’t leave Noly’s.

“Mhm,” Emma hums and that vibration runs through Regina, shilling her instantly, but not in a bad way. “....and I know how you’d feel about her being there if he’s there..so I wanted to run it by you, but when I came in ..you were sleeping.. And well, you get the rest,”

“I held you hostage in my sleep and you were pervious to my control,”

“Well, when you say it like that you make me sound weak,”

“Should I say I was too powerful and that the pheromones I breathe were just too much for a mere mortal as yourself to handle?” Regina questions and Emma giggles, shaking both their bodies at the same time.

“That makes me sound like an infidel,” Emma rolled her eyes and Regina pinched her. They both dissolve into a puddle of laughter until Emma’s eyes glance at Zelena’s raised ones. Clearly Zelena would like to tease them and say a few choice things, but she can’t because her niece is there. Regina’s eyes follow Emma’s and settle on her sister. She instantly stops smiling and groans as Zelena winks at them.

“No, Lena,” Regina told her, not even waiting for her sister to start up.

“I didn’t say anything,” Zelena defended but her laugh gave away to mischief.

“She’s five cents richer now,” Emma interrupts and Zelena grins as Regina looks confused.

“Five cents?” Regina repeats in question and Emma hums. 

“She bet me five cents you were sleeping… I lost because clearly you were,” Emma ended and Regina looked at both the blonde and her sister before scowling.

“You seriously only bet five cents on me?”

“I’m broke!” Emma claimed. “You’re lucky I even had the five cents…” she muttered and Regina smirked before she sat up.

“Well, at least you only lost five cents. Knowing my sister, she’d have taken your money without blinking,”

“She already warned me,” Emma smiled and Regina looked shocked.

“She must like you enough then,” Regina said in counter and Zelena rolled her eyes.

“I’m right here you know,” she said and Regina nodded.

“We know...how do you feel being five cents richer?”

“I’m going to buy some candy..literally I’m going to buy candy,” Zelena repeated and Regina smiled.

“You always had a sweet tooth..then again, you always were a strange bird,” the young brunette teased her and she scowled playfully.

“Whatever.. Anyway, did you tell my sister how you wardened me and my niece into coming back here,” Zelena changed the subject and Emma squinted at her.

“I told you already. I had to. And I would do it again.. Not my fault you listened,”

“That’s because you wouldn’t leave if I didn’t..” Zelena trailed off and Emma smirked. Regina looks at the two of them as she presses her back up against the headboard of her bed.

“What am I missing?”

“Emma here took what you said as gospel and policed me and little bird out of the playground because she got a call from Graham,”

“He wants me to give my statement today so he can start processing him,” Emma said, choosing to avoid mentioning her grandfather’s name. Regina nodded slightly until Noly interrupted the group.

“Can I go with Emma, momma- please?” she asked sweetly but Regina sighed. Her eyes slid shut but she felt the slight nudge next to her and then Emma’s breath on her ear.

“I’m sorry. She overheard me and wanted to come. I told her we’d ask you and see what you say about it,” Emma tells her and she sighs again.

“It’s okay.. Thank you for not taking her…. Noly, baby I’m sorry but you can’t go with Emma,” she tells her daughter and the little girl pouts, shrinking in the oversized coat she was wearing. Regina reached out for her and Noly immediately fell into her mother’s arms. Her pout remained as she asked,

“Whyyyyyyy?” in her softest whine.

“Because Emma has to work and uncle Graham needs her to do something really important that’s going to help mommy,”

“But- but, I promise I won’t go lookin’ momma. I just wanna go with Emma,” she explained and her mother nodded before kissing her head.

“I know sweetie, but you can’t,”

“BUT!” she shouts, only to  feel her mother immediately bring her chin up to her eyes.

“ _ Noellia _ ,” she scolds and the little girl yanks herself away from her mother before she’s scrambling off the bed and running out of the room, nearly tripping and falling on her face as she did. Zelena rolled her eyes and began to get off of the bed before she spoke.

“I’ll go see how she’s doing, you two just...stay here and talk,” she tells them before leaving. Regina doesn’t listen and just gets up out of the bed and begins to go over to her bathroom door. Emma follows her after a minute and hears the faucet running and the distinct sound of teeth being brushed.

“You okay?” she asks Regina and the brunette spits before shrugging lightly.

“I’m not sure..I know she wants to go but she can’t…”

“Because of him?”

“Not just because of him.. It’s because of everything. I don’t want her in there for her to ‘accidentally’ go looking and find herself before him. He’s a vile man, Emma-,”

“-I know, Regina, but I promised to keep her and you safe and I’ll do that. I won’t take her with me if you don’t want me to,” Emma says and Regina immediately answers her,”

“I don’t want you to. I realllllly don’t want you to,”

“Then I won’t. I’ll just tell her I can’t,”

“You shouldn’t have to, she’s my daughter,”

“Yes, but she’ll want an answer from me and she might listen to me a little better than you- especially since I’m not family, right?” she questions and sees Regina contemplate her answer.

“I suppose so… but I am still going to tell her. That’s if she’ll talk to me,” Regina says and Emma looks sad for her. She spits again and washes her mouth out before tying her hair back and washing her face quickly. Emma makes herself busy as she looks around the room again and it’s the same impression she’s had before. The room is beyond bare.

“...so little,” she comments, not realizing that Regina caught wind of her words.

“I’m sorry?” she repeated and Emma jumped before turning back and looking at her. “You said ‘so little’...what’s so little?” she questions and Emma sticks her hands in her back pockets before she shrugs uneasily. 

“I’m sorry, I was meaning the room. It’s just..bare,” she comments and Regina tilts her head back. Emma thinks she’s insulted the woman until Regina sighs deeply and walks over to her closet before flicking the lights on and disappearing in it. Emma mentally and physically kicks herself because as far as she’s concerned- she just fucked up. Waaaayyyyy up. She’s about to speak when Regina reemerges with a shirt, clearly meant for her to change.

“Can I tell you something?” she questions the blonde and Emma nods. Regina hums as she makes her way into the bathroom again and takes her shirt off. Emma isn’t even looking at her body in all it’s beauty. She’s looking at all the bruises she saw earlier and that just bothers her. She swallows back another comment because she’s convinced the hole she dug herself was extremely deep. “I was adopted,” she admits and Emma tilts her head.

“Yeah, your dad told me.. You and Zelena, right?” she queries and hears Regina hum in response.

“Yes, both of us were adopted. And I suppose he told you about our birth parents amongst whatever else,” she continues, tuning to face the blonde and Emma nods.

“He told me a little about that, but nothing much else,” she admits and Regina turns back, a soft smirk on her face. She changes her shirt and tosses the other one in the hamper before she goes to her bed and sits on it. She looks up and Emma before patting the bed and the blonde listens before she sits down and looks at her lap and fidgeting fingers.

“The reason this room..my room- is so bare is because of how I grew up. I had nothing much and I learned at a very young age never to want for more than what I would be given. I held onto that like it was my anthem and pledge; if only because I was sure I would never be adopted..that I would never be loved,” she acknowledged before laughing bitterly at her past. Regina shifted slightly, her voice lowering as she spoke. “Even after my father and mother adopted me, I was still too stuck in that mindset to believe I could ever have more, and it stuck with me since then. It’s the only thing I’ve managed to keep from my childhood that is blatantly obvious at this age.... They gave me everything and more and I wanted none of it because I was afraid it would all disappear the second I touched it. They understood that, but it upset my father to no end that all he wanted was to give me the love and the materials I’ve always wanted and I wouldn’t take it. I wouldn’t take...his love,” she whispered to herself more so than she did to Emma. “I wouldn’t take it and I suppose that dissappointed him and hurt him just the same, but I couldn’t..I love them, but I will never be able to accept that I can have more. I’ve tried, but…”

“...it’s too hard,” Emma finished for her as she tilted her head to catch sight of the woman’s eyes. Regina’s almost imperceptible nod came and Emma inhaled before tilting her head back to it’s original position. “It’s okay you know- to not want so much,” Emma tells her and she smirks but it’s clear she’s wondering, ‘and how is that so?’ “I wanted too much when I was younger and I messed up in a lot of areas later on. I got a little too engrossed in wanting to have everything I saw, and wasn’t engrossed enough in getting the things I needed…. Like when I was still in middle school- or high school, however the system works, I met someone and she was amazing...beyond amazing, but she was always quiet and I didn’t know much about her, but she made me realize I wanted too much and I realized I wanted her… I wanted her with me, all the time..it’s funny because even still to this day, I never learned her name. But I did learn that she was absolutely amazing at what she did. She was controlled and she was smart, just by looking at her I could tell.. I don’t know if she ever considered me her friend but I considered her mines….and sometimes I wish she was more. Sometimes I wish I could redo those days and just..walk over to her, but I was too scared, and I don’t know why. It was like something was keeping me rooted to the ground and I couldn’t move. I couldn’t if I tried and I watched her disappear from my life after that...she stopped existing and if you asked me if I know where she is, I’ll be honest.. I don’t know and I wouldn’t be proud to admit it aloud… I just wish she knew she’d changed me.. Well, that was the beginning of my change because I was still shitty. I went back to wanting more without her being there.. But, with her there- I slowly stopped wanting so much and just needed her after that. I stopped being greedy when I saw her and I started realizing so much about her, like how her hair fell over her face and her curls were always angry. Or how she had to tuck them behind her ear and her glasses.. And God she was always reading something interesting- always,” Emma recalls with a soft smile gracing her face and Regina smiles at her.

“She sounds special,” the brunette says and Emma nods almost too quickly.

“She was… she still is….she’s the girl I fell in love with and I don’t even think she’s knows it,” the blonde admits and Regina’s face falls immediately at that.

“I’m..sorry,”

“What for?”

“For you- for her.. For how you..didn’t get to be with her,”

“It’s okay,”

“Not it’s not. You didn’t get to be with the girl you loved and still do love because she left without telling you,”

“It’s not her fault. I was a coward. I never told her,”

“It doesn’t matter-,” Regina argues and Emma sighs.

“It does. I didn’t tell her. I shouldn’t expect her to understand that. I shouldn’t expect her to stay if I barely talked to her because of how we both were. I was afraid and she was just quiet. Besides.. Whoever gets to love her, will love her right. They have to. She’s special.. Beyond special,”

“And you’re just willing to let her go- just like that?!” Regina asks her incredulous and Emma looks at her strangely.

“Okay, why are you so angry about it?”

“I’m not angry- I just.. It’s just,” she pauses to sigh and she sighs so heavily, Emma fears Regina may fall apart. “I’m just disappointed you didn’t get your chance when you needed it.,”

“Don’t be disappointed.. I just take it as a learning experience. It’s no big deal,” Emma tried to play it off but Regina knew and because she knew, it made no sense for her to push the limit of it.

“Okay...you should probably get going,”

“Ohhhhh,” Emma grinned. “Trying to get rid of me already?” she questioned jokingly but the blatant horror in Regina’s eyes let her know she took it seriously.

“I-no..no- no, that’s not it- I-,”

“-Regina, calm down. I was joking. I do have to go, but I’m just trying not to...in short form- avoid responsibilities,”

“As always,” Regina finallys says in agreement and Emma grins.

“As always,” she repeats before standing and stretching. She pops her back and yawns lightly as she continues her stretching. Emma then stretches her hand out and towards Regina and the brunette looks at her hand and then in her eyes. “Come on,” Emma says to her and she hesitates for a moment until Emma rolls her eyes and smiles at the brunette. “I’m not gonna take you anywhere except to your daughter. You said you wanted to talk to her, so- let’s go,” the blonde ends and Regina finally lets her fingers slide into Emma’s hand. Emma’s fingers wrap around Regina’s, and the grip she has on them leads Regina to know for sure that Emma was not about to let go.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

_ It was a pretty last minute switch to walk the long (opposite) way, or as Emma referred to it as ‘taking a detour’, but she wanted a change of pace. She needed that change of pace. Every Monday through Friday without fail, she had basketball practice and the blonde was beginning to become not only bored with it but she also just wanted something else to ‘waste’ time on after she realized how much dead space was between her practice and her getting home. So, that’s how she found herself walking aimlessly and initially taking the longer route home. _

 

_ Emma had stuck her headphones in and began to blast music on her Ipod as she tutted her feet against the pavement. The blonde hummed and bopped her head as she continued on down the pavement until it broke off at the end. She halted as she raised her head. Her face contorted. She pulled her headphones out and stared at was was before her. _

**_That’s odd..they’re abandoned?_ **

_ She contemplated whether she should turn around or not and immediately decided after seeing how interesting it looked that she may as well continue. Emma shrugged and continued on the pebbled path. She found herself continuing that walk a good ways down those abandoned tracks, until something- or rather, someone caught her eye. She couldn’t make out the features all that well, but just by the length of hair and the obvious skirt, it was clear the person was a girl...then again, she’s seen some guys dress like that before- so she could be wrong. All she knew was that the girl..or guy, had really long brunette hair. They looked to be around Emma’s age as well. That was a plus, but even so, that didn’t mean they’d want a bar of her. _

_ Most time, Emma was shy and in the same breath she could be brave- an odd contradiction of the matter, but that was her. Her feet kicked into motion and Emma was walking, closer and closer to this young woman. She remained on the left side of the tracks as the brunette- who she could now tell was in fact female, remained completely unaware of her presence. For a split second, Emma thought she was flat out ignoring her, but based on how this girl seemed so engrossed in whatever it was she was reading, Emma realized that wasn’t the case. She then took in the girl’s appearance and realized her clothes were nowhere near new, but they were clean. Definitely clean- if the scent of fabric softener or maybe even just her perfume was anything to go by.. The girl seemed quiet..she seemed poised- more so, she looked very reserved. She was clearly so enamoured with what she was reading that nothing around her- no potential danger that could have been there, mattered. _

_ Emma continued to look as she stepped closer and closer to her side of the tracks. The girl had headphones in, and that was something Emma didn’t notice in the beginning. Her face remained buried in the hardback book. A hardback book with a glossed red, silver and black covering. The young brunette tilted it back and forth and it glimmered with every word and with every line that she read. Emma squinted enough that she saw a crinkle in the young girl’s nose and her nose and little freckles on them. It was strange because Emma had never seen someone with skin like that- have freckles. But she didn’t just have freckles there, she had a little right near her cheeks as well, all of it mostly hidden by her glasses. _

_ “H-hi,” Emma sputtered without realizing, but she got no response. The young brunette continued to read, head tilting in contemplation at the story she was so engrossed in. Emma’s face fell slightly.  _ **_Maybe she didn’t hear me_ ** _. “Hi,” Emma said louder, though if she was being honest- that was just as airy as the first one. Once again the girl did not look up, did not budge, and did not bother to even so much as shiver. The blonde sighed and her arms went limp. Her bags dropped heavily onto the pebbled walkway and that, somehow, that was what caught the brunette’s attention. She looked up and fixed her glasses as she regarded the blonde who was just stood there, clearly staring at her. There was a time where the pause just sat amongst them as she looked at Emma and Emma looked at her. Emma gulped. “Hi,” she managed once more. And at first the brunette didn’t even crack, but then she smiled at Emma. “I’m Emma,” the blonde smiled and Regina’s eyebrows rose slightly. “I’m at the school a little ways up from here, but I’ve never seen you before..are you new here?” she asked and the girl shook her head. “So you live around here then?” The girl nodded. “Oh, okay.. I guess you don’t talk much, huh,” Emma grinned uneasily and the girl gave her an almost pity like smirk. She shook her head. “So it’s pretty much safe to say I won’t ever get your name then,”she almost muttered and the young brunette bobbed her head left then right. Emma picked up the implication. “I can guess it, can’t I?” she asked as she smiled like a dope. The girl smiled back and nodded. “Okayyy, Casey?” The young girl shook her head. “Allison?”Another shake of the head. “Kimberly?” she queried and the girl actually snickered. “Mary?!” Emma said as her eyes widened and the girl grimaced. “Margaret?” she asked and the girl practically scowled. She slammed her book shut and huffed. “I’m sorry, but you’re not giving me much to work with here,” the blonde complained, but the girl before her merely shrugged.  _

_ Emma sighed and dropped onto the pebbled path. _

_ “Sooo...since I don’t know your name, can you at least tell me, or-you know- sign where you live?” There was silence as the brunette’s eyebrows rose and Emma caught on. “Oh! Oh God! Sorry, that sounds so bad. I just meant-like, God- I don’t know what I meant, but I know I didn’t mean it the way you heard it. I guess I was trying to ask is, how far away from here do you live?” she finally manages and the girl finally puts her book down and then holds up her fist and three fingers. “Half an hour?” she questions and the brunette nods. Emma smiled. “That means you’re in the same neighbourhood as me,” she smiled but didn’t realize the slight look of hesitance in the girl’s eyes. “That would be odd if you’re my neighbour and I didn’t notice you- jeez! That’d actually be really bad. Please tell me that’s not the case with us? Because I’m just so in my head that I don’t know- but that’d be shitty, because I’m sure I’d notice you. SOmeone as beautiful as you are, I would notice you.. But knowing me- I’d miss you by a mile if I’m off the mental course...yup, I think they need to put me in a hole,” she said and was put at ease the second she saw the young brunette sigh and blush and actually laugh a little. Emma smiled back and plopped down on the gravel. _

_ “I guess..since you won’t talk, I should tell you stuff about myself so that you warm up to me..Soooo, my name’s Emma Swan Nolan- White- excessive, I know. My friends, and by friends I literally mean like the only five people I talk to call me Em or Swan….Oh and Swan’s my middle name...sometimes,” she says with confusion and the brunette shakes her head. “I play basketball and I have practice everyday, five days a week and games on the weekends, but I guess you can tell by my jersey and this thing they call hair just thrown together and clearly being ignored. I’m number six, at least it’s what my jersey says. My friends are nuts and will probably tease me about you if I so much as mention you, but I don’t care, I think you’re interesting and I really do hope you and I end up being friends...they play sports too, for some reason or another and no- we are not a group of jocks. Auggie, his real name’s August is on the lacrosse team at the center and Malan’s in Judo, Taekwondo and Karate. Neal’s a football head..he’s just Neal though, weird and goofy in all the wrong ways,” Emma said and she saw the brunette crack a smile. “Aurora does ballet and cheerleading. Robin’s in some weird Archery thing. It’s kinda funny though cus his last name’s Hood...yes, we gave him the corny name of Bandit..it just works,” Emma grins and the brunette shakes her head…”Wow, really not gonna get you to talk to me, huh?” she questions and the young brunette merely shrugs at her. Emma sighs. ”So, is this your first time here?” The girl shakes her head. “Oh, so it’s likely I’ll see you here more often, then?” The girl nods a little hesitant.” You come here everyday?” The girl shakes her head and Emma looks confused. The girl catches it and bobs her hand left and right and Emma realizes what she means. “Oh, sometimes.. Just sometimes...but why?” she asked and was once again met with a raised brow. “I’m not asking to stalk you or anything. I just wanna know because I think you’re a pretty interesting girl, even if you won’t speak to me..you look like you find solace here and I don’t wanna break that, but I kinda hoped we could do that sort of thing together, if you wanted…” The young girl swallows and shift and Emma’s eyes widened. “ I’m sorry if I’m making you uncomfortable though, but I just can’t find it in myself to walk away from you...there’s just something about you,” she admits and the girl’s face turns red with a smile. “Can I at least tell you about my days when I see you?” she asked and the girl sat up straighter and nodded at her, a soft smile aimed at Emma. _

 

_ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ _

Emma walks over to Noly’s room and peeks in. The little girl is sitting under her covers watching the tv that was in her room. She looks over at her room door and smiles at the blonde woman.

“Emmaaaaa,” she says so quietly that Emma is surprised she catches it.

“Hey, kid..what are you watching?”

“I dunno, auntie Lena told me it’s good,” she recites and Emma nods with a grin on her face.

“She might be right, but if you don’t know what you’re watching, why not change the channel?” she questions and the child shrugs. Emma ruffles her hair before she picks up the remote and switches the channel.

“Peppa Pig!” Noly cheers and Emma laughs.

“You like her, huh,”

“Yup, especially when she goes like this,” Noly says before she makes her best impression of Peppa the pig. Emma giggles at the child’s antics before she stands up straight and speaks.

“I’d love to stay and watch you and Peppa oink around the room, but I gotta go, little lady,”

“But whyyyyyyy,”

“Because I have to help your uncle Graham, remember?” she asks and the child nods. “Yeah, but I’ll see if I can come and say good night before I go back to Granny’s to sleep,”

“Can’t you stay over again? Pleeeeeaaaase?!” Noly begs and Emma sighs.

“That’s a decision your mommy would have to make, sweetheart..but, come here-,” she tells her and Noly does. Emma hugs her tightly before kissing the top of her head. “If your mommy says yes, I’ll come over and sleep again, okay?” she offers and the child nods once more.

“Says yes to what?” Regina inquires softly and Emma and Noly turn to look at her.

“Hey, Regina.. How long have you been standing there?”

“Long enough, I suppose.. But you haven’t answered my question. Say yes to what?”

“She wanted me to sleep over again,” Emma says and Regina looks around the woman and at her daughter.

“Is that so,” she says with the slightest hint of a smile and Noly is shy when she nods but her mother quickly puts her at ease. “Baby, did you ask Emma?”

“Uhuh,”

“Did she say yes?”

“She said we gotta ask you,”

“I tell you what… Emma can sleep over  _ if _ you stop pouting and give me a hug,” she bargains and the little girl at first doesn’t catch the offer until it levels in her mind and she clumsily runs for her mother and hugs her tightly. Regina stands with her little girl who then wraps her legs around her waist and kisses her cheek. Emma walks over and tickles Noly before she whispers.

“I’m gonna bring my super special bear tonight and we can watch scary movies,”

“Ohhh, cooool. I love scary movies,”

“Yes and you also get nightmares because of it,” her mother scolds lightly but Noly huffs.

“Momm, you’re not ‘spose to tell my business like that!” she whines and Regina chuckles.

“I’m sorry baby, but you do.. I can’t have you scaring Emma because the movie scared you..Now, go watch peppa pig and let momma talk to Emma,” she orders and her child obeys. Regina and Emma head downstairs where Zelena’s sleeping on the couch from exhaustion. It didn’t matter how young Zelena tried to act, there was no denying that she couldn’t keep up with her niece if she tried. They stopped at the front door and because they were talking within earshot, somehow, Zelena woke up and ushered them over.

“Spill it,” she commanded the two of them, but Emma looked lost and Regina rightfully maintained the confused expression. “Don’t play dumb, what did I miss,”

“Other than the usual of making a promise to a child… nothing,” Emma told her honestly and she squinted.

“Mmm.. so, you have to go in today?” she then asks and Emma nods. “Graham’s taking your statement again… when’s Regina due to take hers?”

“That, I don’t know. Right about now, we’re going at whatever pace she sets… The possibility of a good judge coming around who isn’t paid off easily because he has money might be a rough one,”

“So why not just get a judge from out of state?”

“That might be an option. I’ll see what Graham says about it...anyway, I might be there for a while, so should I pick up something to eat on my way back?” Emma then turns in question to Regina and the brunette shakes her head.

“I don’t think we should.. We ordered in yesterday. I’ll cook tonight,” she tells them and Zelena smirks to herself before grinning at them and chortling. “What’s so funny, Lena?”

“Nothing. Nothing’s funny. I’m just surprised- that’s all,”

“Byyyyyyy?” Emma queries and she shrugs.

“It’s for me to know and for you to never find out,”

“Well… okay then,” Emma agrees? “Alright, I gotta go. I’ll see you later,” she says before she does it again. She bends to kiss Regina’s cheek and is both shocked, confused and elated when Regina tilts her chin to receive the kiss. They both freeze after that, but hell, that’s what life was about. Mistakes and makeups. Zelena of course loses it laughing at them and they both set her with a glare that doesn’t deter her laughing fit. Regina stands and walks Emma to the door before she smiles at her and sends her off. 

The brunette then goes to sit and her sister looks at her with that one look she always gives her if there is ever any indication she quote on quote ‘ships’ her sister with someone even remotely sensible. 

“So, when’s the wedding?” Zelena jokes and Regina groans, but she blushing if you looked closer.

“Stop it,” she tries scolding, but that doesn’t work because Zelena listens to no one and Regina can’t tamp down the smile splitting out across her face.

“You like her, you admitted as much earlier today with the way you two were all doey eyed and yearning looks,”

“We don’t yearn!” Regina defends childishly and Zelena scoffs.

“Oh please, you so do!” Zelena argues and Regina turns red, not with anger clearly. Her sister smirks before nudging her as they sit in the living room. “You like her and that’s okay,”

“I’ve only known her for a day, Lena,” she informs but her sister shrugs.

“Technically you’ve known her for longer, you were just comatose..” she settles and Regina’s about to argue when Zelena eases her with a hand. 

Meanwhile, little feet were skillfully walking towards the house door and as the tiny human escaped, the women were none the wiser.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Emma whistled as she walked down the corner strip that Zelena had told her about. She squinted and shook her head.

“God damn it, she was right,” Emma admits before she pauses to admire the short distance she needed to walk. Noly had just gotten down the steps and began to run as fast as her little feet could take her to the end of the block.. Thankfully, it was only like two houses but for a child her height and size, that was a mile...and some. Still, she doesn’t give up and when she banks the curb, she can clearly see Emma. She stays quiet, but follows the blonde all the way to and into the station. Emma was none the wiser about the little follower she’d gained.

“Sooooo, how’s the englishmen you told me were all so debonaire?”

“Crap,” Zelena admits with a laugh and Regina looks intrigued.

“Really?! What was the name of the one guy you were dating… Ascot? Asshat?”

“His name was Al, you rude little dwarf,” Zelena tried to insult, but found herself laughing at Regina’s intentional screwup of his name. Truth be told, Al was an asshat most days.

“Not my fault he was such an idiot.. And a cheater,”

“He didn’t cheat-,”

“-Lena,  _ please _ don’t finish that. You will lose all respect I have for you if I hear you say he didn’t cheat. What the hell do you call you walking in on him and your flatmate wrestling naked with a boner the size of the goddamn space needle prodding her Chicago bean?”

“You and your references.. And he’s a guy. I expected  something.. Besides, you’ve seen her. You had a crush on her. Regina-she wanted to marry you and you turned her down!”

“Because she fucked him-that’s why!” Regina blurted and that was the part she swear she wished didn’t slip out.

“Wh-what?” Zelena queries and Regina sighs.

“Lena,” Regina began but she huffed out a sigh and shook her head. “Laina slept with him. She told me it happened not long after the whole naked, wrestling, erection fight,” Regina waved her hands awkwardly and Zelena huffed. She goes silent for a moment before she sputters s coughing laugh. Regina looks at her, rightfully shocked and Zelena speaks.

“You have some very odd and very descriptive ways of recapping a situation,” she kudos and Regina is still lost.

“What?”

“Regina.. It doesn’t matter to me anymore. Ever since you told me you didn’t like him, I’d given him up. I wouldn’t date someone that no one in my likes. Besides, you come before mom and dad do. He has to pass your approval first.. And Laina will sleep with anything that walks and doesn’t have an STD,”

“At least she’s careful,” Regina mutters.

“Yeaaahhh, and I kind of threatened her not to mess around on you or I’ll snap her neck. She knows she’s not ready to marry anyone, but she really did like you,”

“Glad to know,” Regina says, but there’s not form of emotion being given away.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Hye, Graham. I’m here,” Emma calls out and the man appears.

“What took you so long?” he asks and she shrugged

“I was distracted by the cuteness that is your goddaughter and the beauty that is your best friend,” she admits and Graham hums.

“Wow… you are whipped as hell already,” he teases and she leans over to punch him.

“I’m not whipped. They’re just-,”

“-you’re whipped,” he interrupts and she scrunches up her face at him.

“Fine, whatever. Whipped or not, you wanted me in. What do you need me to do?”

“I just need your statement again. This is the one we have to record for the judge,”

“Okay, cool, but aren’t you supposed to have like another person present as a proxy or a witness or something?”

“Yeah.. he’s in the back. Come on, I’ll introduce you to him… well, them. It’s a lot,”

“Greeeeaaat,” Emma sings sarcastically and Graham knows how she feels, but he does it anyway.

 

Noly reaches up as high as she can and latches onto the door to the police station. She yanks and yanks and pulls really hard until she manages to get it open just enough that she can slip in and move around. She hears voices and runs to a corner to hide. Two of her godfather’s co-workers slip through the doors, talking animatedly at one another. She looks down the hall and because she’s gone to the station as much times as she has, she knows it like the back of her hand. Sometimes it just pays to have family that works places like those.

 

“Alright and this is Nani. That’s Jacob. That’s Eduardo. That’d be Little John,” he points and Emma swallows. She spots this massive man with this beautifully long, brown hair and this big ole jesus moustache and he looks frightening as hell. “Don’t let the name fool you, he’s really a giant teddy bear,” Graham tells her and she nods, still not convinced. “Over there is Julie. There’s Robbie. That’s Sam. Cleo and Chrisham. Luka, Noelle aaannnnd me,” he grins and she looks around the room and at the people who all look back at her with smiles and welcoming gazes. Emma internally sighs in relief before she’s bombarded with niceness of hand shaking and hugs.. She does not do hugs. Not well at least. But, after she’s been hugged to death and shaken enough that she’s dizzy from the high of it, Emma sits in a vacant chair.

“So.. you told me the station was small and that no one really worked here,” Emma said after she pinched Graham’s arm and he skittered away.

“First of all. Ow! And secondly, I didn’t say that to you- Ruby did. Third.. Sorry?” he tries and she shakes her head with a soft laugh.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

This was a bad idea, and by bad idea- it was literally a bad fucking idea, but she was a child. She was no where near knowing what was a good or bad idea, granted- she knew what the difference between good and bad was and was pretty sure what she was doing was bad, buuuuuuut, this is how it was going to go. She snuck further and further into the police station until she found the section that had the jail cells.

With some odd determination and pretty much a death sentence, Noellia walked into the room, her sparkly, purple sneakers squeaking just slightly on the linoleum flooring. That alerts someone of her arrival and as bare and hardened, cracked and ashy feet drag against the concrete flooring, the child finds herself very intrigued and being drawn closer to whatever creature was behind the bars.

The feet stop shuffling and the body stood, pressed up against the bars stopped moving. It wnet limp against the metal poles, but it was clear there was still some strength left in those liverspotted hands. Noly moved a little bit more, slower and much more calculated. She kept her distance from the monster hidden within the shadows of the cell, but it was clear the eyes still followed her. The eyes were still on her and even still, that didn’t frighten her. It just made her more aware of it.

“ _ Hello, little girlllll! _ ,” the voice sang sadistically and too sickenly sweet to be innocent. Noly did not answer. “ _ Ahhh, tsk. Just like your mother, hmm? _ ” the voice rang out. It was beckoning her to come forward and answer. It was a gentle urging that Noly recognized all too well. She knew that tone and that implication and she hated it. She hated it with a passion. She hated it because only one person ever did that and that person was-  _ Mr. White _ . “ _ What’s the matter, little girl, are you afraid of me? _ ’ he finally asked as he pushed his face into view. Pressed between two cell poles, was a severely battered Mr. White. He smirked at the child, darkening his already uneasy personality. Noly’s eyes skimmed quickly, spotting the bullet wound he was now sporting.

This is what her mother had told her about. She told her the monster who hurt her had a just as hurt shoulder and it was because of Emma. Noly knew it was a gun because Regina was never one to leave out a detail. She was pretty straightforward and eventually her child would see the monster who hurt her, but as of right now… she wasn’t supposed to, and here she was- defying her mother and looking at the monster before her.

He didn’t frighten her, and that would be something the man would come to hate. He didn’t scare her like he scared her mother. And he damn sure couldn’t hurt her the way he hurt her mother. Uncle Graham would put a bullet in his head, she was sure of that. Well, she was sure he’d protect her, put a bullet in the man’s head...maybe not, but he’d beat him bad. She walked closer to the jail cell and in an attempt to frighten her, he shook angrily at it, seething and reaching for her.. Something in noly triggered her to speak.

“You don’t scare me, Mister White,” she spoke and it was an indignant set of words that made the seething man angrier.

“ _ You _ are a  _ child _ . You will respect me,” he tells her, but she doesn’t respond to that, which in turn makes him scowl at her. “Tsk,” he huffs. “You are surely your mother’s child,” he tells her and she backsaway slightly. His eyebrows go up in interest. “Ahhh, your weakness.. Are you afriad for me to talk about your  _ mommy _ , dear girl?” he questions her and she scowls at him, backing away slower this time because he doesn’t frighten her still. But he’s making her mad as hell.

“My momma is strong!” she tells him with defiance and he scoffs.

“Oh really? Was she strong when I smashed her head into a desk?” he asks and Noly’s scowl deepens. “Was she strong when I levelled my fist into her stomach- or when I yanked her back by the hair, dear girl?” he pushes and Noly huffs angrily, deepening her stance on the linoleum.

“Shut. Up!” she commands him and he laughs.

“Was your useless and pathetic mommy strong when I chased her like a wild animal.. Innate on having my way with her?”

“ _ Shut up _ ,” she says with a low growl.

“Was she strong when I ripped through her precious garments?” he pushed again and Noly’s body shivered, as if a spirit of death passed through her. Her eyes darkened to the point that they almost went black completely.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

“And where the hell are you going? We were having such a good conversation about your many useless dates,” Zelena teased and Regina rolle dher eyes at her sister.

“I’ll be right back, Lena- Jesus! I just wanted to check on Noly,” she tells her sister and the woman waves her off. Regina laughs her way up the stairs and pushes the door open slightly. “Noly- honey..” she calls and when she doesn’t receive and answer, she goes looking around the entire upstairs and then she runs back downstairs, calling her daughter’s name louder and louder. Regina rushes out into the backyard and pulls back at the strands of hair on her head with anger. “LENA!” she shouts loudly and  her sister comes running.

“What? What is it? What did I miss?!”

“She’s gone, Lena. She’s-g-gone! Noly!” Regina cries out in a frantic yell. She falls to her knees and Zelena rushes for her.

“We’ll find her, Regina,” Zelena promises but she shakes her head. “ Yes we will- we will find her. Get up.. Come on, Regina- get up and let me call Emma and Graham!” Zelena tells her sternly and she finally listens. Zelena manages to get her inside without injury and as soon as she has her sister sitting down, she dials out for the station, more directly- Graham’s line.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“What?! H-how?! When?- okay- yes- okay Zelena, I got it. Yes! Yes, I’ll get back to you as soon as I find her,” Graham says before he clicks his phone shut. Emma looks at him with worry and he sighs before he speaks. “Noly’s missing,” he says as he begins walking rather quickly and Emma stutters on her steps as she follows clumsily.

“What?! How?” she asks, clearly incredulous and Graham answers in all seriousness.

“I don’t know, but she’s missing and I need to find her-,”

“-well, you can’t do it by yourself!” Emma scolds and he pauses to face her. She stops short and he sighs.

“Fine, if you’re going to help.. Grab a gun, or a taser. Whatever the hell works for you. Right about now, I-,” 

He’s cut short by a shriek that most certainly was terror ridden. Neither of them could tell if it was a male or female, however, it was coming from the cell section. Both Emma and Graham turned their heads in that dramatic way that meant, ‘let’s see what the hell went wrong here.’ They sprint/ walk towards the hollering and find that Noellia is stood there, growling and scowling at Leopold who is holding onto his eye? Cheek? Something, but the child is covered in a good bit of blood. Emma reacts first, running to the child and yanking her up in such a motherly manner that the little girl jerks from her stance. Graham quickly dials out to inform them she’s safe as Emma keeps her arms protectively wrapped around the child and frantically in search of a wetnap or something to wipe her face with. It doesn’t even feel like a minute passed when they hear Regina shouting.

“Graham! Graham!” and he rushes out to go and get her. When he brings her into the room and spots her child, everything around her except Emma goes black. As they all take notice, it’s clear that by the way Emma has been stroking the little girl’s hair and bouncing her, she was just as afraid. Emma sets her down and holds Noly still.

“You are  _ never _ to do that again, okay, kid?” she questons and the child nods. “Never do that again. You had me so scared something bad happened to you..” she tell her before she pulls her in for another hug and Noly mutely hugs her back. “Don’t go off like that without telling someone… you have to tell someone when you wanna go somewhere, okay?” Emma asks but she’s not looking for a response and Noly doesn’t give her one either. Regina finally rushes to her little girl and Emma has picked her right back up and is passing her off to her mother who holds on just as tightly and spins with her in her hold just a little. She can’t say anything to her and Noly doesn’t bother speaking. Graham unlocks the cells and pulls Mr. White out before he cuffs him properly and takes a good look at his face. Even he has to hiss at what he sees. 

“Jesus Christ.. She nearly took out his eyes… and he’s missing part of his cheek,” Graham announces and Emma looks over for a moment before she shuffles them from the room and into the hallway. She walks them to the bullpen and lets them hang there, rubbing the top of Noly’s head and hugging Regina because they haven’t done that yet. Emma then rejoind Graham and she backs up slightly, turning her head at what she sees.

“I’m sure whatever it is you said or did to her, you deserved,” Emma commented and the man growled at her.

“I should sue you all,”

“For what? Aggrivated assault? News Flash, you’re aleady being sued for that amongst other things, and anything you say, I’m positive we can prove was self defense,” Emma tells him before pointing up to the camera. He simpers angril and she folds her arms. “Just get back in the damn cell and if you behave, I might bring you something to clean your wounds with...but don’t count on it. I don’t care what you look like.. Or what you end up looking like,” she shrugs before she walks out the room and Graham follows.

"BUT SHE BIT ME!" he yells after them, but Emma scoffs.

"So, lick your wounds!" Emma tells him before she continues, Graham still following behind her closely

“You seriously won’t give him something for his face?” he questions her like she’s the sheriff. Emma huffs and scoffs.

“Of course we are. Can’t have him dying in our care. He needs to go to court, be publicly embarrassed and then he can die and decompose in a cell.. In another state with stricter laws,” Emma adds and Graham nods. “Just give him some warm water and peroxide with some gauze and he’ll be fine. He can wash out his bleeding eyes if he dares, but she scratched them pretty hard, he won’t be able to see very well as a result,”

“Sooooo, Good job Noly?”

“Yup, good job Noly.”

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

“She won’t speak,” Zelena tells them when they get in the room. After giving the man the medical supplies and sending the workers home, they’d gone to check on the women and the little girl, still covered in that disturbing creature’s blood. “She only wants to talk to Emma and her mother..together. Graham nods at Emm and then nods at Zelena and they leave the three people on their own. Emma takes a seat and sighs.

“What did you wanna talk about, Elli?” Emma asks her and she shakes her head. “You sure.. Your aunt said you wanted to talk to me and your mommy together,” she tells her but the child just shakes her head. “You don’t wanna talk to me?” Noly nods. “Is it your momma? Do you think she’s mad?” Noly shakes her head. “Then what is it sweetheart?” she urges in questions, pretty much leaning into the child’s space.

“momma’s, strong,” she hears the child whisper and Regina looks at her just as Emma does the same. “Momma’s strong..and she’s not useless and she’s not.. She not..my momma is strong,” she says a little bit stronger than before and Emma swallows. Clearly the man managed to damage the little girl just enough that she was already seething with resentment and anger. Emma looks at Regina who is looking back at her, clearly in need of help.

“He must have said something to her… she nearly clawed out his eyes..and he’s missing part of his cheek. Somehow, he got his hands on her, but she fought him off and whatever it is he said to her, it triggered her…” Emma speaks in such a way that with Noly being as zoned out as she was, her focus wasn’t on them. Regina swallows and looks back at the tv. 

“Should we? Do we?” she questions and Emma nods before she turns it on and plays back the past few minute.

  
  


They sit and they watch what happens and how Noly finds herself in the cell room very easily. They hears how he tries to pull her forward with words and how she stands strong and then they hear the monster. The words, vile as they come.. But only one sentence triggered the child.

_ “Your mother’s body was and IS mine to do with what I please and she is nothing more than a toy!” _

_ “My momma is not A TOYYYYYYY!” _

They saw her charge at him and him yanking her up, but it was all too fast because Noly’s reactive nerves hit and she didn’t flail or scream, instead. She fought. And she fouth like hell. She grabbed and squeezed, pretty much gouging and then she reached forward and bit into him hard enough that he would pretty much drop her or go down to the ground still holding her. He did in fact drop her after howling in pain and she fell but backed away and stood up, her stance set in the way Emma found her.

Emma cut the video and breathed out heavily. She looked at the child and the little girl is still dazed, stll covered in blod and before either she or Regina can do anything, Emma’s phone rings. 

“Hello,”

“Hell. May I speak with Emma,”

“This is she.. Who is this?”

“Ahh, Emma. It’s Henry.. Henry Mills,”

“Oh.. hi Mister Mills, is something wrong?” she questions, now turning to Regina and mouthing something.

“No, nothing is wrong. I was merely trying to reach Regina and couldn’t and I jsut assumed you may have been able to tell me why or maybe you two were together.. She wasn’t answering her phone and I assumed she was busy,” he adds and Emma answers.

“She probably forgot her phone on the table or something. We were dealing with a small situation, but everything’s fine now.. Did you wanna talk to her, orrr,”

“No- no. Just a reminder that lunch is in the next half an hour. Usually she’s here early and we’re waiting on Zelena, but it seems they’re both running a tad late, hmm?”

“Oh right, lunch. Don’t worry Mister Mills. We’ll be there in like five minutes?”

“We look forward to it,” he says and they hang up..

“We forgot lunch with your parents today,” Emma blurts and Regina sighs deeply.

“Crap,” she mutters before she sighs again and rubs at her temples.

“We have to go now. I told them we’d be there in five munute because we’re like super late,” she then rambles and Regina just nods before she gets up and passes Noly off to Emma who is much faster at walking with the child in her arms. They pretty much zoom past Graham and Zelena.

“We gotta go. Lunch with your parents is literally in less than five minutes,” Emma then tells Zelena and the woman cusses.

“Shit.. I knew I forgot something.. Graham, aren’t you are Ruby reuquired to be there as well?”

“Yeah, but we’re known for being later than you because we bring the dessert. You guys go and I’ll meet you there in a while,” he tells them and everyone makes sounds of agreement before they get into the car and thankfully the ride isn’t that long. It’s about ten minutes, but with the roads being barren and Emma having a ehavy foot, they arrive in nearly half that.. Still late, but not fashionably… definitely not fashionably. Zelena knocks as Regina and Emma come up with Noly. The little girl is pretty much gone at this point in time.

“You’re late,” Cora comments with a smirk and Zelena manages to smirk back.

“Now mum, you know that’s my specialty,” she says as she hugs the woman and steps inside. Zelena calls out for their father and disappears. When Regina and Emma come up to Cora, the first thing she notices is the blood on Noly’s shirt. With the little girl standing there and Cora about ready to have a heart attack, Regina’s eyes flutter in that signature way of saying ‘wait’

“It’s not her blood,” she has to assure her motehr quickly.

“W-wh-h-God!”

“We had a little mishap at the station,” Emma speaks. “But it’s all been solved.. It’s really not her blood… it’s Mr. White’s,” she clarifies and Cora looks evenmore out of it. She can’t form a sentence, but instead just points to the stairs and they move.

Henry manages to catch them at the staircase, but when he sees the blood and the distant stares, he knows it’s not something he wants to hear about.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Emma runs the bath water for Noly as Regina strips her child of the bloodied clothing and tosses them in the trash. She wasn’t washing that or bothering to clean something she cared nothing for. Noly walks in all her nakes little girl glory and get into the tub, but she doesn’t play, she doesn’t sing… nothing. She just washes herself and Regina washes her hair and then she’s out and waddling with her giant towel across the hall to her actual room to find something to wear..

Regina leaves her be, opting to moisturize the child’s skin after she’s dressed. She instead walks into the closet and gets something for her and Emma to wear. Emma hadn’t noticed but both their clothing had ended up becoming stained with blood. Granted, that was Regina’s she had on to begin with, so when the brunette gave her another shirt, she felt guilty.

“I can’t keep wearing your things,”

“Would you rather go to lunch topless?”

“No,”

“Then put it on. It’s just a t-whit. They cost three dollars at the t-shirt shop. It’s really no big issue, Emma. Just put the shirt on,” Regina tells her and she listens.

She’s still forgoing the underwear though and then Regina takes a towel in the bathroom and shuts the door. Emma takes that as implication that Regina’s clearly not uncomfortable with her being there.. Which would also mean she trusted the blonde. Emma found herself observing this room and realizing it was just the same as Regina’s actual room. Bare and lacking. She does however, find herself watching tv and waiting for Regina to come out of the shower, but Noly gets there before the brunette is finished and Emma remembers what Regina had mentioned to her before about skin and moisturizing and her child and Emma just took it upon herself to lotion Noly’s skin and let the child lay on her until her mother was ready.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Lunch is only awkward because of the previous situation and leave it to Zelena to have their parents up to date on everything. Sometimes Regina could thank her vocally for saying what she genuinely would have loved to just leave in the dark.

They promise to do it again sometime and by sometime, it may be in the far future, just because. Emma doesn’t remember much of it because her focus was on Noly. Regina remembers none of it because her focus was on Noly and Noly.. well, they’re not sure if the child is registering anything at all with how she’s functioning. Zelena opts to stay with her parents because she’s not well versed in dealing with zombified humans.

 

The day ends oddly enough for them. They watch a movie. Somehow that was decided. They eat and watch some tv, fall asleep against one another and Noly settles herself on both of them. She lays her head on her mother’s lap and let her legs hang on Emma’s lap. Whe she finally sleeps, the little girl.. _ Is afraid _ .

She dreams of the monster, not for herself… but the one for her mother. The one who was said to hurt her mother. She only fears for Regina in that moment, because she herself has already fought him, and she won….it was just time for her mother to do the same.


	9. Chapter 9

If I admitted that I hated the way this story was going and felt I needed to scrap it and start over, would you guys forgive me for giving you D grade, crap work... I don't know what it is, but I can't stand the story's flow. It feels disjointed..sooooo, with that being said, I shall revamp and revisit this story another day...just not anytime soon


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